US debt tops $9 trillion for first time-Treasury

[UpInArms]

Source: Reuters

WASHINGTON, Nov 7 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department said on Wednesday publicly held U.S. debt breached $9 trillion this week for the first time ever, just five weeks after Congress had raised the statutory borrowing limit.

At the end of September, U.S. President George W. Bush signed a measure to increase the debt limit ceiling to $9.815 trillion from $8.965 trillion, allowing the government to keep issuing debt.

The increase in the debt limit is the fifth since Bush took office in January 2001. The U.S. debt stood at about $5.6 trillion at the start of his presidency.

In approving the debt limit increase, Congressional lawmakers said the $850 billion increase should be large enough to allow the government to continue borrowing into 2009, well beyond next year's presidential and congressional elections.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0754579020071107

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The estimated population of the United States is 303,471,651
so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,945.01.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of
$1.44 billion per day since September 29, 2006

[madrchsod]

1. i was raised to believe the republicans

were for balancing the budget and no debt.....my ,oh, my, sometimes i really yearn for the good olds days!

[BearSquirrel2]

13. I have learned that ...

I have learned that Republicans state they're for anything that will get them votes. What they're actually for is lining their pockets with public dollars. I'll take a tax and spend Democrat over a Borrow and Squander Republican anyday.

[RogueBandit]

2. Workers share?

>so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,945.01.

Only a certain percentage of people actually contribute to the economy. Small children don't, retirees might not.

Does anyone have any idea what the amount becomes when you bring it down to the workers' level?

[Yael]

9. I have seen estimates of $69-$73 thousand per "working/tax paying" American

[Hulk]

3. Setting all sorts of records. This administration is proud that they smell like a giant turd.

[razors edge]

4. We appear to be

headed for a lead based economy.

[benld74]

5. So on top of my mortgage, credit card debt, kids college,

education, monthly bills, medical expenses and retirement funding, I also have an extra 120K in debt? Thanks W

[ckramer]

6. Why worry if none of it will be paid back?

Keep spending! Got bless America!

[Progressive Friend]

7. I believe Reuters is wrong actaully

Look at this official Treasury Department page: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

The first day that the debt was over 9 trillion was on 08/31/2007.

[Yael]

10. I am sure they are right

The debt limit wasn't raised to $9 trillion until the end of Sept and the official numbers were a few hundred billion below that when they authorized it.

[Bigmack]

8. And the cost of the Iraq/Afghan/Iran clusterfuck...

is included?

No???

The US isn't even going to leave skidmarks on the bowl.

[tabasco]

11. I haven't heard the pinheads screeching "tax and spend" liberals lately.

"Tax and Spend."

Also known as "paying the bills."

Republicans prefer to borrow and spend for temporary political gain, placing the country in ruinous debt.

[TheFarseer]

15. really? I have

don't you know "it will be even worse with a Democrat" Forget the last Democrat actually balanced the budget. You can always explain that away by saying it was just a projected surplus and someone will believe you even though that is not true. I'm continually amazed and appalled that we allow this deficit spending to happen and it's not even a campaign issue. We just want Santa Claus to keep bringing the tax cuts and the super-fun wars and screw the $9 trillion dollar credit card bill coming due.

[EVDebs]

12. So with a $13.13 trillion dollar GDP that means 2/3rds of a year's production

flushed down the toilet. The GOP really knows how to manage an economy, don't they ?

[truthisfreedom]

14. DON'T BELIEVE IT! bushco will find a way to force that limit at least one more time

before the end of bush's reign, and all for the purposes of draining this country's government bone dry. The BFEE intends to start their own government. MARK MY WORDS!

Bush will DOUBLE the debt from the time he started to the time he's finished. He will undo EVERYTHING that Clinton did to help straighten out America.

[Supersedeas]

16. the Cheney Doctrine regarding debts and deficits is the real legacy

[gratuitous]

17. Bush started with a $5.6 trillion debt, now it's over $9 trillion

The numbers are just too big to comprehend anymore, but here's a real simple way to think about it. In the last six years, Bush has nearly doubled the debt our nation ran up in its first 225 years. And he did it with a remarkably compliant Congress that never sent him a bill to veto. This is a Republican mess all the way.

Want to see it change, America? Quit putting Republicans into office.

[Doctor_J]

18. Mission Accomplished!

Perfect excuse to cut veterans' benefits, SCHIP, infrastructure, SS benefits......

[Auntie Bush]

20. Count on those cuts. He's already in the the process of doing it. If we have a Rethug

President and we don't have a veto proof congress...there will be no security net left for the poor or SS...yet the dept will be even higher because they will give more tax cuts to the rich and Oil corporations etc.

[Javaman]

19. Weeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's all hoist a big ol' glass of we are fucked!!!

Yayyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

[HughBeaumont]

21. Gotta love them "Borrow and Waste" republicans.

For all of that debt, the middle class and the poor sure are getting zilch out of it. And with every Puke admin since Reagan, the damned thing increases more than ever.

And a message to EVERY American citizen:

That meme you all buy? (cue scary female Republican voice) "Democrats will RAISE YOUR TAXES!"

Got news for y'all. The party's OVER. Not like it really ever began for you, but I'm going for the Fox News droolers.

If you want this thing to go down (which at this point, I doubt it ever will) our taxes are going to go up no matter WHO is in office. This cannot continue. It's to the point where we're wasting so much money, even the interest is going to become impossible to keep up with.

And much as you don't want to believe your VP is a schmuck - this DOES matter.

It's almost the same number as what the US economy is currently worth (10 Tr).

You want to yell "TIMBER" or should I?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

22. If the idiot get his war with Iran he could break 10 trillion before he's done F it up.

I didn't think one idiot could sink a country as wealthy as the US but this assclown is making a real run at it. With the resultant fall-out/blowback over the next decade, dipshit might just accomplish it.