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National Debt Email

Posted on 01/27/2005 10:48:16 PM PST by Knighthorse

Just received the following email in my inbox. Could somebody tell me if this is real or a hoax?

I'm a little concerned about it, so I thought I would ask you guys for some answers.

Here it is:

Dear Fellow American, As we fight a war in the Middle East, the politicans are still spending our money like it grows on trees. The National Debt is now over 7.6 TRILLION dollars (7,600,000,000,000) but they do not do anything about it. Interest on the debt consumed 7% of the national budget in 2003 (check your IRS tax booklet pie chart to see where your money is spent). While the politicans quibble about a few billion here and a few billion there, more billions are added to the debt - this is money that can be better spent in the real world - creating real jobs for real people through real industry. Paying interest on the National Debt is just throwing our money away. It still has to be paid, but if we don't balance the budget now, it will just consume more and more of the budget. Now is the time to take action. Please write a letter and make a $7.62 contribution (that's seven dollars and sixty-two cents) to the Bureau of PUblic Debt as your contribution to paying off the debt. But not only that, photocopy your check or money order along with your letter, and mail it to your Congressman or Senator with a note saying that "I've made my contribution to eliminating the debt, have you made yours"? Let them know you are serious about this. If we need more money for defense, more money for education, health care, social security, and even CONGRESSIONAL SALARIES, tell them they can take that out of the 325 BILLION that we are spending each year on the National Debt once the debt is eliminated. In 1981, when Ronald Reagan took the oath of office the National Debt was at 930 Billion. In 1989, when George H.W. Bush became President it was at 2.6 Trillion. In 1993, a 3.8 Trillion debt was held by the nation. Our current President inherited a debt of 5.8 Trillion. Today it stands at 7.6 Trillion and will grow by at least a Trillion more in the next 10 years according to the Congressional Budget Office. We don't care what party is to blame because they are all to blame. It will hit 10 Trillion in our lifetime (and you can blame every single American for that) if we don't do something to curb Congresses and the President's appetite for our taxdollar. It's time to tell the politicians you are serious about eliminating the National Debt. Please write your checks and your letters today. Let's see if we can reduce the debt by 7 billion by July 4th!!!! DON'T FORGET TO SEND A COPY OF YOUR CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND SENATOR!!!! Let's flood their offices with mail from concerned citizens. To find out who your Congressman is, go to www.house.gov and www.senate.gov for your Senator. You can also write to the President at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C. Please follow these important steps to make a contribution to reduce the debt. Make check payable to the "Bureau of the Public Debt" (http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/opd/opd.htm) In the memo section of the check, make sure you write "Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public " Mail check to - ATTN DEPT G, BUREAU OF THE PUBLIC DEBT, P O BOX 2188, PARKERSBURG, WV 26106-2188

Sincerely,

Taxpayers Against The National Debt


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: email; interest; nationaldebt; publicdebt; repayment; trillion

1 posted on 01/27/2005 10:48:17 PM PST by Knighthorse
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To: Knighthorse

Did you do your part in voting for a conservative?


2 posted on 01/27/2005 10:49:44 PM PST by econ_grad
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To: Knighthorse
Could somebody tell me if this is real or a hoax?

No. Not a hoax.

Except the check is actually to be made out to me and sent to my address.

That part is in error.

3 posted on 01/27/2005 10:50:13 PM PST by tallhappy (Juntos Podemos!)
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To: Knighthorse

It is a scam.

The federal gov't would send you a letter - they own a postal service, don'tcha know?


4 posted on 01/27/2005 10:50:14 PM PST by clee1 (Islam is a deadly plague; liberalism is the AIDS virus that prevents us from defending ourselves.)
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To: Knighthorse

It's called "Phishing" by an unscrupulous phony non-profit. I got one today that was made to look like it was from the Washington Mutual Bank! Tried to forward it to spoof@wamu.com but my ISP wouldn't let it be forwarded. I thought that was strange since their crap-trap spam eliminator didn't keep me from getting it in the first place.


5 posted on 01/27/2005 10:55:56 PM PST by SierraWasp (Moderates, are just too chicken to commit to any ideal!!! They prefer sophisticated sophistry...)
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Comment #6 Removed by Moderator

To: Knighthorse
Interest on the debt consumed 7% of the national budget in 2003

FY 2003 federal expenditures were $2,158 billion...
FY 2003 interest on the debt was $318 billion or roughly 14.7%

Note: we ran a deficit in 2003, collections were only $1,782 billion, so...

17.8% of our taxes went to pay interest on the debt!!!

7 posted on 01/27/2005 11:08:57 PM PST by Willie Green (Go Pat Go!!!)
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To: Knighthorse

So... if I get the jist of this

The National Debt is $7,600,000,000,000.

We are to send in a check for $7.60 to the Gov't to reduce the debt.

The sender of the email has a goal of reducing the debt by $7,000,000,000 by July 4th.

Soooooooo..... all he has to do is find 921,052,632 Americans to each write a check for $7.60. In a country the population of under 300,000,000, this will be hard to do.

However..... if by some miracle he can reduce the debt by $7,000,000,000 by July 4th, the National Debt will have been reduced to:

$7,593,000,000,000

He should look for an additional 828,947,368,400 people with checkbooks.


8 posted on 01/28/2005 7:31:43 AM PST by So Cal Rocket (Proud Member: Internet Pajama Wearers for Truth)
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To: Knighthorse
a hoax...When Reagan took his oath the deficit was four trillion...but that aside..we could just sell off some of our national parks, no can use and we don't maintain to help pay down the deficit.
But what I have never been able to figure out is the whole issue of the cost of the deficit compared to our GDP. It is minuscule in the scheme of things.
Besides when figuring a deficit you take assets minus debits and that is the true deficit...if we did that..well....
9 posted on 01/28/2005 10:54:09 AM PST by roylene
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To: So Cal Rocket

While the $7.62 amount is miniscule, I think it goes more towards getting the attention of Congress. It seems to be more of a vehicle to get the attention of Congress and the President to properly address the National Debt issue than an effort to actually pay it off with private funds. That's how I interpret this based on the "send a copy of your check and letter to Congress and the President" (to paraphrase).

I know sometimes I get these fundraising appeals from conservative groups and historic preservationists with a nickel or a quarter attached to it asking me to send the money back to them with a donation. Sounds to me it's just a clever marketing ploy in much the same vein than a serious attempt to actually pay off the debt.

Yeah, $7,000,000,000 won't even scratch the surface. How the author came up with that figure based upon the 295 million population, I have no idea.


10 posted on 01/29/2005 12:06:50 AM PST by Knighthorse
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To: roylene

Well wait a minute, it seems that everytime the National Debt goes up, the recessions get longer and Wall Street goes through more uncertainty. This can translate into the lack of capital going through private investments and low consumer confidence, which has a direct impact on the stock market.

Add to that the fact that a majority of stock ownership is not by individuals but by mutual funds and pension plans, is it any wonder that the market seems to have flat-lined. It does up for a short time, it comes down for a short time. It's been that way for the past 18 months. Is it going to sink or swim? Lately, the market forces haven't decided which way to go. It's not sinking like it was in 2000-2001, but on the other hand, it isn't rising like the late 90s either.

Paying off the debt would eliminate the money we are paying in interest and free up more capital for private investments and tax reductions. This would lead to a long period of sustained growth, which benefits all of us.

Additionally, from my research, a good chunk of the debt is held by foreign investors. Will we be held hostage when the interest is due and don't have the funds to cover it because outlays are much larger than receipts?

Apply this principle to your own personal finances. If you own a $200K house with a mortgage of $1600/month, for instance, and you have an additional $900/month expenses - your outlays are $2500/month. You make $2000/month take-home, so you need to borrow the additional $500/month just to break even. You are then in deficit spending and have to sell $500 in debt bonds each month ($6K/year). Don't forget the interest.

When the first bonds come due in a year, you have your interest to add on top of the mortgage, on top of the home equity loan. You make $2100/month, but your outlays are $2750/month, you still need to borrow the additional $650/month to cover the 2nd loan and interest.

The next year, you make $2150/month (recession causes only a $50/month pay increase), so you have to borrow $900/month because of taking out yet another loan, adding to the interest, and your regular monthly expenses went up slightly. When are you going to be able to start paying your mortgage down? You can't borrow your way into prosperity.

Pretty soon you will have so much debt that you need to raise the interest on your debt bonds to make the price attractive and it raises the total household debt by astronomical proportions. Someday you will have to pay the piper.

On the other hand, your debt vs GDP is only 24.2 percent, with the GDP defined as all of the wages in the family. Your brothers, sisters, parents and grandparents wages and debt all count as well. The only thing is - you are the only one in the family carrying the debt. 24.2 percent of the GDP is a huge amount when it amounts to 100+ percent of your wages.

When do we pay the piper as a government?


11 posted on 01/29/2005 12:23:23 AM PST by Knighthorse
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To: Knighthorse
First, I would not qualify for the kind of mortgage you lay out..
Second, I would sell what I had, pay off debit and but something cheaper.
Third, if we pay off the debit what happens to all those people who own bonds? Their income is eliminated or slashed.
Fourth, the stock market is doing well over the long term.
Fifth, recessions are not getting longer.
Sixth, I think you need to relax and look out for our own. If you are debit free..you will be ok. Stop worrying so much. Focus on what a nice day it is today.
12 posted on 01/29/2005 8:56:21 AM PST by roylene
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To: roylene

First - the kind of mortgage I laid out is the type of mortgage that the United States of America is paying. Which is why we have a huge National Debt to begin with.

Second - When is Congress going to start selling off assets to pay their debt?

Third - The bond holders will all get paid by eliminating the debt. Their income will not be eliminated or slashed unless we default. Right now it's a refunding situation where we are paying off mature bonds and taking out more.

Fourth - It's too uncertain. We don't know that. We haven't hit a record amount in the Dow for about 5 years. For the last 18 months it's been fluxuating between 9,500 and 10,500.

Fifth - When you look at the time span between the recessions starting in 1965 going through today, it's getting shorter. The number of months we spend in recession is getting slightly longer during each decade. This may not be a problem now, but it is a problem looming on the horizon.

Sixth - Every day is a great day, some are just better than others. I'm looking out for my own, but as an American, I have a responsibility to look after my family. My parents, grandparents, cousins, children - everyone in my family is affected by what happens with the National Debt. The dollar is getting devalued compared to the Euro and the Yen, more capital is going into interest payments instead of something that is job producing - which keeps wages low compared to the consumer price index.


13 posted on 01/29/2005 3:35:20 PM PST by Knighthorse
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