USA debt links

[GlennO]

I came across this link I found it useful it breaks down the components of the debt:
Federal Budget Spending and the National Debt

Here's the clock showing the overall debt:
U.S. National Debt Clock : Real Time


Enjoy....

[ronen]

will it turn around once you leave iraq and afghansitan?

[GlennO]

I doubt it....

[Steve1300]

I would probably go down if the Federal Government abolished those offices for which they have no consitutional authority.

[ronen]

compared to some other states you are not worse off
even though you have a truly frightening debt
percentegewise you are not in the worst position

if germany could recover from two completely terrible situations to the point of leading the world
than the USA surely can too
its just a matter of making some right decisions and correcting some wrong ones

the soviet union collapsed because it tried to compete with the US
could it be that the US is going the same way for trying to compete with the entire world..?
a fleet in japan
military bases in the ME
missle shield in europe
needless to say europe doesnt offer any support japan the same
both score cheap political points by criticising you
the arabs.. who knows if the will join the fight and on whose side they will be

[Carl]

will it turn around once you leave iraq and afghansitan?

It will only turn around if the government has a desire to turn it around. While it continues to spend every cent collected and then some nothing will change.

While the voters have said "enough is enough" congress is pressing on regardless, and the President is slipping into the Executive Order issuance for getting his agenda implemented.

[MikeD]

"its just a matter of making some right decisions and correcting some wrong ones"

A powerful statement and soooooooo true. Only trouble is, I honestly doubt the current administration has any idea as to how to apply such a thought, AND MAKE IT WORK!

[Carl]

So what is the big deal. We have basically been into deficit spending starting about 1900. It is nothing new. Only thing new is the amount. And it is getting so that a good share of that is interest.

[GlennO]

Interesting chart -

U. S. National Debt History

[ronen]

can someone explain in layman's terms the whole issue
is the US in debt because its people borrow money which they cant return?
it sound kind of strange
i mean its not like youre the most irresponsible people on the planet

is it in debt because of the huge imports from china?
how does buying cheap products from china actually backfires on the americans to the point where you are indebted?

if i cannot possibly understand before having rudimentary knowlege in economics
than we can postpone this post for a year
im supposed to learn an economics course towards the end of my degree studies

[GlennO]

Ronen -


According to our Congressional Budget Office:

* Social Security will collect $45 billion less than it pays out this year ...

* It will come up $547 billion short from 2012 through 2021 ...

* Plus, the disability portion of the program will run out of money within six years!

This is a major component of our financial slow-motion train-wreck!

Sad to say, American leadership AND its populace has lost its way.

IMO, as a nation we have become soft. From a fiscal perspective, we now have more in common with a teen-age supporting himself on credit cards when he has not been employed in years.

There are so many factors working against our nation, yet the general population refuses to accept the fact that programs that were once viable can not be supported without jobs.

Government produces nothing, yet we borrow more and more, when our children's future depends upon sacrificing now for to secure our future.

Sadly, I don't see that happening.

If only our government balanced its checkbook like its subjects must do month in and month out!

[ronen]

so you say its not because of some complex economic reason regarding the chinese currency
but rather a case of buying stuff on credit
but than you need to come up with more reasons than social security because 50 bln a year is nothing for you
it cant be the reason
if americans are buying on credit than they would owe mainly to the american banks who are probably not owned by china

[micah719]

From my limited understanding, it's the Fed Reserve (which is not Fed or a Reserve, but a private bank) creating US dollars out of thin air, which it uses to milk the nation dry and buy up its assets for worthless monopoly money. I wonder if JFK may have attempted to interfere in this parasitic system, thereby earning himself a place in the group of US presidents executed in public by the real rulers, usually for the same reason. Wilson even admitted what he'd permitted to occur...the 1913 coup d'etat that saw your freedom finally fly over the horizon along with control over your money.

[GlennO]

Ronen said:

so you say its not because of some complex economic reason regarding the chinese currency but rather a case of buying stuff on credit

You missed my meaning. I attempted to simplify the coming financial collapse of arguably the largest economy on the planet (USA) to budget principles that all us regular folks must adhere to, namely DO NOT spend more than you earn. Obviously that did not translate well.

Ronen said:

but than you need to come up with more reasons than social security because 50 bln a year is nothing for you it cant be the reason

For starters how about: a decade of wars Iraq, Afghanistan. Building a space station we will have to give away or hitchhike to get there. Corporate bail-outs with taxpayer dollars. Providing dollars for the bulk of the operations of the crooks at the UN. Foreign aid to most of the countries on the planet.

I mentioned Social Security as but one example of many so-called "entitlement programs" [code word for wealth redistribution in our nanny-state]. The elected Politian’s and lobbyist defend the programs that most people consider as "sacred-cows", but the unfunded liabilities of those programs. However, these are the very programs that impose the greatest fiscal footprint as we attempt to make our financial ship of state seaworthy, the polities and lobbyist stack new burdens on her deck.

United States - 98.4%
External debt (as % of GDP): 98.4%
Gross external debt: $13.92 trillion
2009 GDP (est): $14.14 trillion

External debt per capita: $45,302
IMO, the USA is headed in the direction of the EU PIIGS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/30308959/The_World_s_Biggest_Debtor_Nations?slide=2


From 11 months ago:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/mar/26/cbos-2020-vision-debt-will-rise-to-90-of-gdp/?page=1

[ronen]

check this out
Program on Public Consultation 2015 Federal Budget Exercise

i didnt finish the exrcise cause i didnt want my opinion to log as that of a US citizen and be used later
anyway only by raising the taxes on the very very rich your entire deficit dissapeared
and thats without any cuts from budget
if you were to finish your foreign aid program and your two wars you would be able to pay your debt in no time
my logic was that some one who makes a million dollars annually would not leave if taxed 20 -30 percent
because emigrating and changing a job would mean at least the same amount of lost salary

[Carl]

Yes raising taxes would balance the books. However the Tea Party came about because a fairly large segment of our society feels that it is time to balance the books, in part, by cutting wasteful spending. Let me also state that the Tea Party is not a political party. It has no candidates. It is a group of like minded people that came together to try and bring change to the existing parties, and our government.

The desire is that our government be brought back to a government (of the people, by the people, and for the people). In essence what this means is that when the government is governing for the good of the United States it is a government for the people.

What brought the whole Tea Party phenomenon to creation was the government's voting the national health care program into law inspite of major objections of the majority of the voting public, and the massive borrowing for the bail-out programs. Then desiring to continue to borrow and spend.

if you were to finish your foreign aid program and your two wars you would be able to pay your debt in no time
my logic was that some one who makes a million dollars annually would not leave if taxed 20 -30 percent
because emigrating and changing a job would mean at least the same amount of lost salary

It is true that if we were not to spend so much on foreign aid and the military we would have the potential for balancing the books. However what everyone forgets is that we are spending more on our social programs than on defense.

When I was a little guy I used to look at the toy section of the Sears Christmas catalog and dream about getting some of the neat toys. However I knew at 8 years old that my family could not afford those kinds of gifts. So I just didn't think about owning those toys. The American people that are paying for the government spending want the government to govern that way. If it can't afford it without borrowing then don't do it.

[ronen]

i agree of course.
i didnt mean that america should raise taxes without making cuts
i just wanted to point out that merely raising taxes on the richest segments of population is enough to balance your checkbook
that means that if your government wants to, there is plenty that can be done to turn things around
in short: the situation is far from desperate

i dont know much about the tea party
i read they want to cut the foreign aid including that of israel
i think thats a good idea
foreign aid should be up to the people to decide
like charity
it should not be imposed by pressure groups

but if it will come to that i just hope they have the wisdom to do it in a way that wont sour relations