Can You Spare $8,000,000,000,000?

Can you spare $8,000,000,000,000 (yes, TRILLION)?

In my taking a break from local politics, I thought it important to let you all know that recently the US national debt has passed $8,000,000,000,000! $26,879.30 for every American man, woman, and child. That means that a worker making $13.49/hr would be able to pay off their share of the debt in one year, with nothing left over. How does that effect us directly? A question that President Bush Sr. was unable to give a good answer to in a 1992 debate. Don't think Clinton, Bush (W), Dole, Gore, or Kerry could give a good answer either. Well, here is my answer:

• Future generations will have a huge credit card bill to pay. Most of that debt is in the form of US bonds, which pay interest. So that $8 TRILLION is earning interest. Just as somebody who gets a new credit card with a high credit limit will have fun until the bill is due, our politicians are having fun spending our money on projects that will help further their political career.
  
• This will cause massive inflation, the hidden tax. One reason buying US bonds are considered a safe investment is because the US Government can print up money at will, so they will never default on their debt. Unfortunately, the more money the government prints up, the more inflation eats out of your buying power. Just as $.20 bought a stamp when I was a child, $.20 now doesn't buy you a stamp for a postcard. That means people on a fixed income, mainly retirees, will see their money buying less and less. Thus increasing their dependency on government programs to pay for their needs.
  
• It encourages corruption. Deficit spending encourages the government to spend money on pet projects. That makes it more worthwhile for a company to hire a lobbyist to encourage the politicians to award projects to their company. Big companies see the benefits. Most small companies will never see a dime from this. They don't have the money to hire lobbyists. Many politicians would love to award projects to companies that will donate to get them re-elected. No matter what campaign finance laws we pass, their money will help get their favorite politicians (re)elected.

Do you work hard? The government sure hopes you do. $127,864 is the average family's share. If this debt is not paid back with higher taxes, the government's money printing machine will work overtime and make your current savings worthless.

Visit http://www.toptips.com/debtclock.html to see the running total.