No one is talking about this political issue
Donald Trump took President Obama to task for not making mention of Pearl Harbor during the president's trip to Japan and visit to Hiroshima. He's talking about banning Muslims from entering the U. S. and building a wall along our border with Mexico.
Hillary Clinton is talking about anything and everything except the email scandal which seems to be growing in the wake of the release of the independent IG report.
Bernie Sanders is talking about the system being rigged against him and how we must provide free college for everyone.
But no one is talking about the national debt. The numbers are even more frightening when viewed this way (in billions of dollars):
It has increased nearly sixfold during the last five decades. Let's look at the population growth during the same period (in millions of people)
So during a time when our national debt increased nearly sixfold, our population didn't even double. So how much does each of us owe, if we were to be held individually responsible for this debt? As of September 30, 2015 every man, woman and child would have to write a check for $56,403.37. Back in 1965, our individual responsibility for that debt would have been only $1,591.14.
I hear some of you saying, "wait a minute, you have to adjust that 1965 amount for inflation. Fair enough. Adjusted for inflation, $1,591.14 in 1965 would be $11,972.79 in 2015. So even adjusting for inflation, our individual share of the national debt is nearly five times as much as it was in 1965.
I want to focus on something a little easier to deal with. Every single one of us has a program or programs we think deserves more funding (and many programs we feel should get less funding). Well, what if over $400 billion was suddenly freed up in the federal budget to spend on other things. A pipe dream? Probably. But that's how much we are spending annually to pay the interest on the national debt. Since 1990, the annual expense to finance the national debt has grown from $264.5 billion to $402.4 billion in 2015. These numbers come directly from the U. S. Treasury's website.
Donald Trump did make one comment about the national debt, although not the cost of financing it. He suggested we negotiate it down by the U.S. filing for bankruptcy. That's a non-starter as previously mentioned. But none of the campaign's focus has been on the debt crisis. I won't even get started on how we're in a much bigger hole due to unfunded future liabilities for government employee pensions and healthcare benefits at every level.
I don't have an answer. But ignoring this looming problem is certainly not the best strategy. Nor is kicking the can further down the road for future generations to deal with. Next time why our growing national debt is a much bigger problem than ever before, thanks to three letters (GDP).
Hillary Clinton is talking about anything and everything except the email scandal which seems to be growing in the wake of the release of the independent IG report.
Bernie Sanders is talking about the system being rigged against him and how we must provide free college for everyone.
But no one is talking about the national debt. The numbers are even more frightening when viewed this way (in billions of dollars):
| 1965 | $317,274 | ||
| 1970 | $370.919 | ||
| 1975 | $533.189 | ||
| 1980 | $907.701 | ||
| 1985 | $1,823,103 | ||
| 1990 | $3,233,313 | ||
| 1995 | $4,973,983 | ||
| 2000 | $5,674,178 | ||
| 2005 | $7,932,710 | ||
| 2010 | $13,561,623 | ||
| 2015 | $18,150,604 |
It has increased nearly sixfold during the last five decades. Let's look at the population growth during the same period (in millions of people)
| 1965 | 199.4 | |
| 1970 | 209.5 | |
| 1975 | 219 | |
| 1980 | 230 | |
| 1985 | 240.6 | |
| 1990 | 252.8 | |
| 1995 | 266.3 | |
| 2000 | 282.9 | |
| 2005 | 296.1 | |
| 2010 | 309.9 | |
| 2015 | 321.8 |
So during a time when our national debt increased nearly sixfold, our population didn't even double. So how much does each of us owe, if we were to be held individually responsible for this debt? As of September 30, 2015 every man, woman and child would have to write a check for $56,403.37. Back in 1965, our individual responsibility for that debt would have been only $1,591.14.
I hear some of you saying, "wait a minute, you have to adjust that 1965 amount for inflation. Fair enough. Adjusted for inflation, $1,591.14 in 1965 would be $11,972.79 in 2015. So even adjusting for inflation, our individual share of the national debt is nearly five times as much as it was in 1965.
I want to focus on something a little easier to deal with. Every single one of us has a program or programs we think deserves more funding (and many programs we feel should get less funding). Well, what if over $400 billion was suddenly freed up in the federal budget to spend on other things. A pipe dream? Probably. But that's how much we are spending annually to pay the interest on the national debt. Since 1990, the annual expense to finance the national debt has grown from $264.5 billion to $402.4 billion in 2015. These numbers come directly from the U. S. Treasury's website.
Donald Trump did make one comment about the national debt, although not the cost of financing it. He suggested we negotiate it down by the U.S. filing for bankruptcy. That's a non-starter as previously mentioned. But none of the campaign's focus has been on the debt crisis. I won't even get started on how we're in a much bigger hole due to unfunded future liabilities for government employee pensions and healthcare benefits at every level.
I don't have an answer. But ignoring this looming problem is certainly not the best strategy. Nor is kicking the can further down the road for future generations to deal with. Next time why our growing national debt is a much bigger problem than ever before, thanks to three letters (GDP).
posted by me at 8:12 PM
<< Home