It's the DEBT STUPID!!!

[loudnclear]

this increase in GDP had less to do with Bush tax cuts as it had to do with a rash of refinancing and increased debt. Just like the Federal government increased debt for the next generation, so is the public increasing debt for them...the children of the boomers will suffocate under the mound of public and personal debt their parents are leaving them. Trust me...the debt numbers tell the story. The $300 tax reduction only translated into down payments on more debt.
Americans believe, as Reagan told them 1980 and Hannity told them last night, that we do not have to sacrifice our standard of living for anything...not war, not education, not safety, not energy...anythin. Thus, the attitude of most Americans (and the credit companies that shove out the dollars) is if you can't afford it, borrow it. Why should the rich have all the fun...borrow that money.

And I agree with them. I'm going to take it if they give it to me and worry about paying later. I don't even hope to be debt free before I die, so I am having a ball! What is good for the government should be good for us all. Debt is only a problem if someone tries to collect it.

[terrya]

1. What's the level of the National Debt right now?

I thought I read it was $7 trillion. I could be wrong.

There's a question I always wondered about. And it might be naive, but...

Exactly how much debt can we sustain before the economy crashes? Is there any thought to this?

[Spazito]

3. Only as long as the foreign holders of the "paper" allow it.....

which doesn't bode well in the long run.

[denverbill]

4. We paid $318 billion in interest for this year.

Imagine what we could have for $318 billion per year.

The debt only becomes unsustainable when we can't meet the interest payments on the debt, or when interest rates have to be raised to sell the debt securities. Frankly, I don't think it will be long before we have to raise interest rates.

[Grins]

10. Here you are:

$6.8T and growing

<http://www.uwsa.com/uwsa-usdebt.html>
Nice one. Sponsor is "United We Stand". It claims to be up to date to the minute and gets its data from the US Treasury. I noticed that the number goes "down" as well as up. I assume that is principal and interest payments on debt as they occur.

Here's one from a site by "The Daily Republican" (how's that for irony?). The numbers for the two sites are relatively close.
<http://brillig.com/debt_clock/>

And for grins, check this press announcement just before the "Selection 2000". The debt was $5.6T - and going backwards!
<http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/09/07/debt.clock/>

The last line is priceless: "Senior economic advisers to Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush agree with the principle of paying down the debt, but have not committed to a specific date for eliminating it."

Hah! They still haven't.

[terrya]

11. Thank you for the info.

I'll check those sites out.

And I like that last line, also. It will be so reassuring when they decide on that date.

[denverbill]

2. I understand your point, and agree with your analysis.

Unfortunately, your last paragraph doesn't cut it. The problem with govt debt is that if they don't repay it, eventually, eventually, the currency goes to hell.

You can't keep printing money forever. Once inflation starts, higher interest rates are going to body slam the economy BIG TIME. And inflation is inevitable. Bush will go down in history as the man who ruined America.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

5. This administration has projected deficits of....

greater than $250 Million Dollars throughout 2011, at this time the Bush tax cuts will cancel out (as it was part of the deal in order to get them passed, they were made to be temporary only) and we will have a surplus once again! Of course, Bush will push for more tax cuts and keep the deficit running!

[denverbill]

6. He's already announced he wants more tax cuts next year.

Something over $100 billion in corporate tax cuts.

Repukies are already whining about the enormous costs of a prescription drug benefits ($40 billion/year). But they'll give away tax cuts like that has no impact on the deficit.

That is one benefit of the Republicans abandonment of fiscal sanity. Since they are now claiming enormous deficits are not a problem, spending a few billion to extend unemployment benefits, or $40 billion for prescription drugs, surely ain't no big deal either. What's another 10% on the deficit per year?

[loudnclear]

8. But he will be out of office by then and a Dem will be in office to take

the blame. I expect Bush to be re-elected just on good economic news. What you are saying is true but it won't happen for another five years.

[SummerGrace]

7. So we will be...

Argentina?

[SahaleArm]

9. No we'll have a Democrat in office.

*NM*