How bad is the deficit / national debt ?

[KeyWester]

The Defense budget every year is about 680 billion dollars.

If we cut that in half and put all that money against the debt, and accounting for the interest, we could pay off the debt in 50 years.

Needless to say , if we used the entire defense budget every year it would take 25 years or less , interest would be less.

These are just ball park figures, don't get all mathy on me, well, maybe check my math... I am only making a point.

And I am sure we all can agree that the Defense dept's budget won't see these kinds of cuts. Personally, I wouldn't mind taking a couple hundred billion off their budget.

[Turbineguy]

1. It's hard to tell.

When Repubs increase it, it's OK. When Democrats reduce it, that's not good enough.

[KeyWester]

2. I believe the Obama defense budget ...

is larger than Bush's last defense budget.

But they still claim he is destroying the military.

[JVS]

4. When do democrats reduce it?

[Ozymanithrax]

3. If we cut it in half, we would simply quit borrowing 340 billion dollars...

With the annul deficit projected at $1 trillion a year, we would pay off nothing, and only go into debt by a third less. Even stripping the entire defense budget, a plan that would have other devastating effects on our economy, would not solve the problem due to the projected deficits.

Cutting the defense budget will be necessary, but it is not a magic bullet that takes us back to solvency.

[NoNothing]

5. Thanks, was just about to make the same point

It's not possible to borrow your way into solvency.

The only thing that can make us solvent again is *economic growth*.

[jtuck004]

6. Not bad at all - read #8 and #9 in the link

We need to be focusing on jobs, and the government spending it will take to help create them.

The whole focus on the deficit is a frame by opponents of the current administration to keep the discussion away from
using our unique abilities as a the producer of the dollar to improve our economy.

More here

[Name removed]

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[KeyWester]

9. Cutting the defense budget like that would be radical..

I agree.

The rest of the solution would also have to be radical ..

Reform NAFTA
Penalties for outsourcing, incentives for creating jobs here.
Tariffs
Higher taxes on the rich, massive cuts for small business
ect...

None of which would happen.

[Name removed]

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[msongs]

11. money for the welfare military/war profiteers comes from the government as borrowed or taxes nt

[Name removed]

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[Statistical]

8. Well a first start would be to balance the budget (like Clinton did)

without a balanced budget trying to pay off/down debt is a fools errand.

We are spending $1 trillion more than we have each year. Say we cut defense budget by $300 billion. That simply means we are going into debt less "fast"; only $700 billion a year in the red.

However now is not the time to be cutting federal spending. We need to economy running and generating revenue but "someday" we will need to tackle this.

[Winterblues]

13. And we have the Lowest Interest rates in almost a century

What do you think is going to happen when rates start climbing? Right now we are paying more in Interest than all Social Programs put together except Social Security and Medicare...I remember when Interest rates were almost twenty percent. I'm talking Prime Rate and that was how Reagan got elected..He got credited with stopping inflation and dropping rates to under ten percent..All I know for sure is it did indeed happen under his Administration but whether that was because of him or in spite of him I still don't know.. It would have a huge effect on our Debt though if rates were to go up a few points.

[theoldman]

14. I believe it was Carter who tried to stop inflation with high interest rates.

You stop deflation with low interest rates. Reagan increased the national dept by reducing taxes but not reducing spending. Bush senior and Clinton increased taxes and reduced spending.