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osborta (99.92)

Brother, can you spare $46,000?

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July 14, 2011 – Comments (6)

I asked my 15-year-old to do the basic math for me - divide $14.2 Trillion (the U.S. Debt - NOT INCLUDING obligations for Social Security, Medicare and Obamacare, which adds another $20 Trillion or so) by 310 Million (the current population).  The result, somewhere around $46,000, is how much every man, woman and child owe in this country.  He said he wasn't going to pay his portion.  I told him many folks among our leadership, including our President, want that number to continue going higher - perhaps as much as $5,000 per year!  Maybe by the time he has children it will be $100,000.  And maybe my grandkids will be more generous than my son, who refuses to pay up for his portion. 

 ..... or maybe people will get a clue and stop electing people (of BOTH parties) who spend like drunken sailors (no offense to drunken sailors, who actually show a little more restraint than the U.S Government usually does).

 Don't buy the lie that *not* increasing the Debt Limit is equivalent to defaulting on the U.S. Debt, which would clearly impact the U.S.'s credit rating and ability to borrow money.  It's just like your family budget - so long as the debt obligations come first, the creditors won't come knocking on your door.  You just need to figure out how to prioritize the rest of your budget, and figure out what you can (and must!) live without.

I hope the debt ceiling isn't raised.  My family of 6 currently owes over $275,000 as part of our portion of the National Debt, and I can't afford the INTEREST on that debt, let alone having our leaders add MORE to it!! 

 If you are reading this and you disagree with me, will you please send me the $275,000 to cover my family's portion?  I would REALLY appreciate it!!

6 Comments – Post Your Own

#1) On July 14, 2011 at 10:40 AM, smartmuffin (< 20) wrote:

Well hey, look on the bright side.

If the Fed keeps printing money, perhaps the $100,000 your grandkids owe will be less in terms of purchasing power than the $46,000 everyone owes right now!

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#2) On July 14, 2011 at 10:43 AM, tmathe85 (51.18) wrote:

Americans are FAT. I mean if youre under 200 lbs youre "skinny" I cant wait for this crisis to hit, some forced fasting will do our country great.

 

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#3) On July 14, 2011 at 7:52 PM, vriguy (80.51) wrote:

I was trying to explain the debt limit issue to my very intelligent 14 year old niece and I told her how her generation might be saddled with debt. Her response was to tell me, "in that case I'm moving to China." 

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#4) On July 15, 2011 at 3:21 AM, KurtEng (32.97) wrote:

Yes, it is equivalent to defaulting. The government would not pay its bills and it's pretty similar to if a private person decides that he doesn't want to pay his bills anymore. If someone doesn't pay his utility bills for a year, I would guess that his bank would eventually find out would raise his rates for any loans he applies for.

A more accurate analogy would be a family that is in debt and can't pay the bills at this time from their income. They can either take a low interest rate loan from the bank to pay the bills or go bankrupt. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

 I diagree with you, but I won't be sending the $275,000. Sorry.

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#5) On July 15, 2011 at 11:10 AM, osborta (99.92) wrote:

KurtEng - the problem with your logic is the whole "entitlement" mentality.  You believe that what the U.S Governement spends money on is "owed".  Outside of Social Security and Medicare (for which people have paid in and need to receive what they were promised), the bulk of the remainder of the U.S. Government expenses are not "owed".  NPR is not "owed" support.  The National Education is not "owed" support.  States are not "owed" extended unemployment benefits ad nauseum. 

 At its worst, this "entitlement" mentality says the Government owes me anything I ever want or need.  And a LOT of people have this attitude.  Too many.  To see the error of this, just imagine if EVERYONE did this - and NOBODY got a job or paid taxes.  Sadly, because we have been borrowing from Social Security and Medicare for decades, we couldn't even pay the "Entitlements", let alone the 100% of people who decided the Government "owed" them a living.

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#6) On July 15, 2011 at 11:48 AM, KurtEng (32.97) wrote:

Soldiers are "owed" their salary, treasury bond holders are "owed" payments on their loans. When the government promises to pay something, they "owe" it in my mind.

 

The discussion of how much the government should promise is another matter entirely. This is about raising the debt limit, not making a budget.

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