The Deficit

[ripdog]

It scares me. I feel like the USA is just a house of cards waiting to be blown over, for the proverbial straw that breaks our backs. I am particularly dismayed that our debt is being bought up by countries like China and Saudi Arabia, both countries that I don't like or trust. Are we selling out our children and grandchildren so that we can live high on the hog today? As of this afternoon, the deficit sits at over $7.7 Trillion and climbing. I'm not sure I can wrap my brain around a number that large. $77,000 billion. Nope, can't imagine how much that is either. $770,000 million. $7,700,000 thousand. ~$26,000 per American.

Could the Democrats scare the [censored] out of us in 2008 by mapping out the consequences (please assume that they wouldn't puss out like Kerry did in 2004 with the Gun Boat Veterans for Smearing People)? Please read the URL below:

Rep. Carolyn Maloney's Floor Statement on Increasing the Debt Limit


Here's one from the other side of the aisle, that I think is BS, but you can tell me otherwise:

Economic Woes Begin at Home


And here's on more from Lieberman (a bit long and semi-related):

Meeting the Offshore Outsourcing Challenge

[BCPVP]

[ QUOTE ]
As of this afternoon, the deficit sits at over $7.7 Trillion and climbing.

[/ QUOTE ]
This is the nat'l debt, not the deficit.

[ripdog]

oops. still scares me, though.

[kurto]

Just be glad we have fiscal conservatives in the White house. [img]/images/graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
It scares me. I feel like the USA is just a house of cards waiting to be blown over, for the proverbial straw that breaks our backs. I am particularly dismayed that our debt is being bought up by countries like China and Saudi Arabia, both countries that I don't like or trust. Are we selling out our children and grandchildren so that we can live high on the hog today? As of this afternoon, the deficit sits at over $7.7 Trillion and climbing. I'm not sure I can wrap my brain around a number that large. $77,000 billion. Nope, can't imagine how much that is either. $770,000 million. $7,700,000 thousand. ~$26,000 per American.

Could the Democrats scare the [censored] out of us in 2008 by mapping out the consequences (please assume that they wouldn't puss out like Kerry did in 2004 with the Gun Boat Veterans for Smearing People)? Please read the URL below:

Rep. Carolyn Maloney's Floor Statement on Increasing the Debt Limit

[/ QUOTE ]

This one was pure politics. As I've posted many times in the past, the Washington Post and the National Taxpayers Union estimated that Kerry proposals would have increased the deficit more than $200 billion above current levels. I've posted links to both the article and the report. There was this thing called a recession in 2000-2001 that led to decreased federal revenues. And if your going to talk about the tax cuts, check out the trend in job growth since the tax cuts were enacted. There's nothing that's noteworthy in the Congresswoman's perspective IMO.


[ QUOTE ]
Here's one from the other side of the aisle, that I think is BS, but you can tell me otherwise:

Economic Woes Begin at Home

[/ QUOTE ]

This statement from the link is hilarious:

Economic Woes Begin at Home

Many in Washington are concerned about the loss of jobs in our nation’s manufacturing sector, but few seem to understand the role Federal Reserve currency manipulation plays in that loss. The economic problems currently facing this country are the direct result of a boom-and-bust cycle caused by inflationary Fed policies. An open debate on monetary issues therefore is long overdue.

During the Greespan tenure as Fed Chairman, the U.S. has undergone the longest economic expansion in it's history; the bond market has been in a 20 year bull market indicating Greenspan's success in his major mission which is price stability; and there have been 2 recessions in 18 years and the 2000-2001 recession was a very, very mild one. This is what he calls boom and bust? After reading the nonesense I quoted I didn't bother reading the rest.


[ QUOTE ]
And here's on more from Lieberman (a bit long and semi-related):

Meeting the Offshore Outsourcing Challenge

[/ QUOTE ]

I really like Senator Lieberman. This article is a well written, well thought out perspective IMO. From the article:

Fourth, our talent base is what ultimately sizes our economy, yet the number of U.S. graduates in engineering and physical science is dropping 1% a year. In China, 45% of all graduating students received their degree in engineering. In the United States, it’s only 5%. Education reforms are no longer a policy option for us. They are a necessity, from kindergarten through university diploma.

This indicates part of the reason that engineering work does get outsourced, there aren't enough people in the U.S. going into the engineering field which results in a void that has to be filled for innovation and investment which is the key element to economic growth.

[bholdr]

Personally, i feel that carrying a reasonable ammount of nationl debt is benificial to this country. it provides with a powerful tool for regulating the economy via intrest rates, etc, and 330 B odd in intrest a year is probably very slightly +EV

what is 'reasonable'? less than one year's GDP, of course, but we're nowhere near that yet. (GDP was 11 trillion last year, if i recall correctly) I'd like to see it at about half of what it is, however.

[QuadsOverQuads]

Fret not, my child. All we need do is pass a large enough tax cut to cause revenues to soar through the roof and thereby save us from the folly of our insane debt. Thus saith Saint Laffer, and thus saith Saint Reagan, so thus it must be. All hail the glories of the Holy Market.


q/q

[lehighguy]

Yes, it is a problem.

No, it won't be solved.

See how calmly I just said that. It's cause I know I can't change anything. And the people that can won't.

[tolbiny]

"330 B odd in intrest a year is probably very slightly +EV"

If that interest was going into US banks and being pumped back into our economy it would be good for us. However each year more of our debt is bought up by forgien banks/countries, and larger chunks of that 330b are going overseas.

[CCass]

I do not like deficit spending, which increases the national debt, and we should have balanced budgets every year.

However, the current debt level is the equivalent of a US household having an annual income of $110K, and total debt of $77K. Not that bad when you put it into perspective.