How are Americans going to pay the national debt?

Question

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/nat-debt/debt-nat.htm

It's 48 trillion dollars or $161,287 per man, woman and child.

Answer 1

It is very easy really: Stop making wars all over the world, retire your army and you will save a bundle. Plus the world will thank you for that.

Answer 2

Bill clinton left office on 1/20/01 with a balanced budget and a record surplus of 127 BILLION dollars. The federal budget was BALANCED when Clinton left office. We are now NINE TRILLION dollars in debt.

NET job creation in the U.S. during the Clinton administration - 22 million. NET job creation during the W administration - 3 million.

Per the U.S. Department of Labor in Sept 2006 --

The AVERAGE median salary of 80% of the workforce is $39,000. The AVERAGE increase in that salary since W took office is 3.9%. That does not even KEEP UP with inflation, which means NO one is really getting ahead.

Meanwhile - the price of home heating has risen 60 to 70%, the price of gasoline has risen over 50%, and the cost of health insurance premiums (for those who HAVE health insurance) has risen over 80%.

Americans are NOT paying "less than ever before". They are paying a LOT more for goods and services while NOT seeing ANY increase in wages to even KEEP UP, let alone get ahead, with inflation.

Answer 3

The same way we always "pay it off", basic economics. The economy is constantly growing, so in a few years, the "record debt" of today will be a very small amount of money (in terms of future money*). Unless for some reason the economy crashes (say by raising taxes to the point where there is no incentive to want to make more money). But even though this is basic economics, it's a very a abstract and difficult concept to a generation whose main source of "news" is Comedy Central.

* The debt of WWII was really a record in terms of percentage of gross domestic product, but in terms of actual dollars, it's minuscule.

Answer 4

What I find interesting in the charts is how much the debt went up during the Clinton Administration. I see people on here daily talking about how Clinton balanced the budget yet our debt continuously rose. You cannot balance a budget by stealing from the Social Security fund and putting the money into the general fund.

We are not going to pay it!

Answer 5

Well I am sure the government will find new ways to tax us. Oh America is the most immature, idiotic country, to have several Presidents that just keep going to war, running up the debt, and not caring about how it will affect all of us. This country is whack. Yes, I said it.

Answer 6

The debt will not be paid off, especially because of the Federal Reserve Banking Structure.

Every dollar that the US government spends the need to borrow from the fed at interest. In order to pay off the debt they need to borrow from the Fed, at interest. Unless a large foreign investment is made to pay of the Fed, or the Federal reserve is abolished there is absolutely no way to pay off the debt as you are caught in this loop of having to borrow from you lender at interest to pay of you lender with money you borrowed from them, at interest.

It is as asinine as paying off your visa with your visa.

Answer 7

ROTFL!

The U.S. will see to it that it will never get paid.

It must continue being an international superpower so it can just bullly any entity that brings the issue around.

Answer 8

It WAS balanced 8 years ago, when Clinton left office. Maybe you should look at the current power and his little war.

Peace.

Answer 9

Certainly not by taxing us to death. That only reduces tax revenues.

Answer 10

gop controlled govt----fiscally responsible my @ss.

sure the dems contributed,....look at the graph, it double since bush took office, he and his congress spent more than any dem congress, created the largest govt in US history.

vote gop for more of the same