How are we in so much debt?

Question

I read somewhere that America is 8 trillion dollars in debt. How is that? How do we pay that off and rebalance it? How are we still considered such a rich country if so many people and the country in debt? Are stock market crashes caused because the goverment uses that money to pay off? I just don't understand at all. Thanks.

Answer 1

Well a fact that most don't think about.

Half of the national debt, is debt owed to ourselves.

IE:

The excess Social Security revenue, is invested in US Treasury Bonds.

The US could just as easily say that SS will come from the general fund, and completely wipe out that portion of the national debt.

It's almost like saying, well the defense buget will be 10 trillion over the next 20 years, so the national debt is really 18 trillion, instead of 8 trillion.

The part of the national debt that matters, is the part foreign owned.

Currently who owns the national debt:

US Government 3.5 trillion dollars
US Citizens 2.8 trillion dollars
Foreign ownership 2.0 trillion

Answer 2

It's close to 9 trillion.
The tax payers are stuck with the bill
The reason why it's that high is because in 1913 our government allowed a private organization to take over the Federal Reserve Bank. At the time Wilson was president and he installed the income tax which he claimed was a prevention to tax exports there by making us more competitive in the world market. But the real reason was that he knew that the government was going to take many loans from the Federal Reserve Bank and that new tax was going to pay for it. They can print up the money at will and loan it to the government at the tax payers expense.
Right now the ran the press to the brink and some countries refuse to take the US Dollar because it has been so devaluated. Since 1913 the US Dollar is now only worth 4 cents because they took us off the gold standard which kept the integrity of the dollar in check.

Answer 3

We are in debt because we spend too much money. If we want to eliminate our debt, we need to engage in an aggressive program to cut the debt by cutting services, cutting tax loopholes, privatization of government controlled businesses like AMTRAK, and establishing a schedule of debt repayment.

The reason the US can accumulate more and more debt is because the US government has always repaid its debts dating back to the American Revolution. There is no better investment other than government bonds.

The reasons Americans are considered rich is because of the material wealth. If you have stuff even if you are in debt, you still have more than the person not in debt with nothing.

Answer 4

W. - 43 - king Bush - 41's son, etc., etc., - I'm being kind !!

I JUST HAD TO GET BACK IN HERE !! I'M 62 - CANADIAN - FOR THE RECORD. WE GET WHAT YOU CALL SS AT 65 - NOT 62 !!

NEXT PART- 'desert viking....' - WHO THE HE** ARE YOU KIDDING - WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL THE 'BOOMERS'(YOUNGER THAN I BY A FEW YRS) CASH IN THEIR 'IRAs' AND PAY TAXES ON THEM ??? THE GOV'T WILL BE OVERFLOWING WITH CASH DUE TO THIS SO-CALLED 'LACK OF CHILD BEARING GENERATION'(YOUR WORDS IN PRECISE).

YOU TALK AS IF THE PALTRY AMOUNT THESE PEOPLE HAVE 'EARNED' IN SS IS SOME KIND OF 'BURDEN' ON THE USA !! WHAT A CROC !!

THE 'BOOMERS' WILL 'FILL' THE COFFERS. THE SS IS A PITTANCE !!!!! "AND" THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY TAXES ON IT BECAUSE THEY WERE SO FRUGAL - SOMETHING THAT YOUR GENERATION(I FIGURE YOU'RE TOO YOUNG TO KNOW OR CARE) WOULDN'T EVEN THINK OF.

YOU'RE A FOOL TO SAY SUCH THINGS - LEARN AND LISTEN OR THE OTHER WAY 'ROUND.

GEEZ, WHAT A 'PAIN' FROM POTENTIALLY THE 'ME' GENERATION.

CHECK OUT THE PROFILE - ALL INFO IS A SECRET - NO PROFILE !!

WHAT'S WITH THE 'TOP CONTRIBUTOR' STATUS WITH ONLY LEVEL 3 AND 15% BAs - NO OFFENSE INTENDED - I WOULDN'T LOWER MYSELF TO THIS PERSON'S LEVEL - LOOK AT MY PROFILE - WIDE OPEN !!

ONE SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO 'PONTIFICATE' LIKE THIS IN TOTAL ANONYMITY !! IT'S PATENTLY WRONG. THERE IS NO DEBATE WITH THIS PATRON OF Y!A. HE/SHE SAYS WHAT HE/SHE LIKES, AND NO REBUTTAL OR KNOWLEDGE WHERE THIS 'GARBAGE' IS COMING FROM CAN BE 'OUTED' - IT'S A DISGRACE !!

NOW - 'jeeper_peeper...' - KNOWS WHAT'S UP !! THE US NATIONAL DEBT ISN'T MUCH DIFFERENT IN % THAN IN CANADA, JUST VAST AMOUNTS OF LARGER SUMS DUE TO THE 8X POPULATION DIFFERENCE, AND VAST AMOUNTS OF BUSINESS INTERESTS THAT FAR OUTSTRIP CANADA'S ABILITY TO HAVE AN 'ECOMOMY' BASE,RELEVANT TO POPULATION.

HOWEVER, THE 'RATES'(AS STATED) ARE SIMILAR - THE GOV'T AND THE CITIZENS THAT THE GOV'T 'OWES' THE MONEY TO MAKE UP THE GREATEST SHARE OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

CAN YOU IMAGINE IF THIS MONEY WAS ACTUALLY ABLE TO BE 'CALLED IN' ALL AT ONCE ?? NOT BL**DY LIKELY. PEOPLE RE-INVEST, AS DOES THE GOV'T. THE 'PURE' DEBT, ALTHOUGH NOT IN GOOD ENOUGH SHAPE THANKS TO 43 IN THE USA(BY FAR) IS FAR LOWER THAN THE FIGURES THAT ARE 'THRUST' UPON THE PUBLICE BY 'PUNDITS' WITH A PURPOSE(NOT ALWAYS GOOD !!).

Answer 5

Because all the money the gov't gets from the Federal Reserve is loaned. The Federal Reserve is owned by private bankers, (Rothschilds. Rockefellers, and alike). The government takes money it doesn't have and then it has to pay more. This is only one of the issues. There is war (9X as much as the second highest spending country), inefficiency, corruption, wasted moeny, etc....

Answer 6

Ah come on, let's lend some more money to countries that can't repay and the absorb the debt. We've been doing it for years! Not the only cause for our debt but a very large contributor!

Answer 7

the government borrows money from other countries so we can fund our war habits, how nice of them,

stock market is a mess, alot of people are in debt (more so since the lower class got houses and now can't afford houses + gasoline)

it's a really cool concept i think we just print off the money and say we're rich, wish it was legal for my printer to do that hehe

Answer 8

Simple. Over 65% of the Federal budget goes to entitlement programs. That figure will reach 75% by the year 2020. The largest generation ever born in the U.S. (the "baby boomers") also had one of the lowest reproductive rates in the history of the country. So, we have less and less people in the work force to meet the Social Security obligations of the "boomers" when the oldest of them reaches age 62. That happens next year.

Answer 9

You have to borrow to expand, just like with businesses. A guy who wants to open a restaurant chain doesn't necessarily have millions on hand at the beginning. He goes to a bank, borrows, builds his business, hopefully suceeds, then repays his debts.

Same thing with government in a sense.

Answer 10

WAR!
**note** u aint dat rich.
:)

hope this helps you understand.