Posted on 11/18/2005 11:40:48 AM PST by Robert Drobot
According to the Treasury Department, from 1776-2000, the first 224 years of U.S. history, 42 U.S. presidents borrowed a combined $1.01 trillion from foreign governments and financial institutions, but in the past four years alone, the Bush administration borrowed $1.05 trillion. ... "No American political leadership has ever willfully and deliberately mortgaged our country to foreign interests in the manner we have witnessed over the past four years," said Tanner. "If this recklessness is not stopped, I truly believe our economic freedom as American citizens is in great jeopardy." [CNSNews]
I wonder if there are any implications...
"The facts are not partisan, and they're not ideological," said David Walker, the nation's comptroller general. He should know. He's the nation's chief accountant and signs off on the government's balance sheet. America's fiscal future, he said, "is worse than advertised."
When the government next reports these numbers Dec. 15, the total is expected to reach $46 trillion to $50 trillion.
How much is $50 trillion? About $166,000 for each of the almost 300 million Americans. [Seatle Times]
American "wealth" is an illusion based on borrowed funds that will soon be cut off, followed by creditor claims. Are you ready to repay the $166,000 spent on your behalf?
"To whom" and "my kids and I owe"
You seem to think this money is going to be paid back. You cannot sqeeze water from a rock.
Just another W should be walking behind a "Newer Spreader" in Crawford, TX. You BushBots will see, probably too late, what is happening under the W admin. He has ruined the conservative movement for many years to come, if not forever.
Tell that to the global money changers.
Are these the same money changers who scream for more tax-money when they drive their banks to the verge of bankrupcy.
We taxpayers have already paid them back what we owe them with interest they owe US.
Good point. I agree. My only fear is that the way this government is going, they will always spend more than they bring in. And you can only do that for so long.
But, I'm definitely with you. More prosperity is one half of the solution. Holding our officials accountable for their renegade spending is the other. And if that means voting them out of office (regardless of party) in '06 to send them a message, that's what we need to do.
Yes, remember is correct where you were not. Now, can you explain why an unfunded liability is different from public debt? Why an unfunded liability while serious is less serious than public debt?
And we've been the greatest debtor nation in the world for a while. As well as the nation with the largest GDP and the largest household wealth. We could pay off the debt we owe to other nations easily but why should we? I could pay off my mortgage tomorrow but that doesn't mean that that is the smartest thing I could do with my money.
We represent only 5% of the world's population...as we all can see, a lot of towel heads think we're better off dead. The more people we owe money to...the more interested they ALL BECOME IN OUR WELFARE. Under the Clintons our net indebtedness actually declined..and it was coupled with a rise in domestic terrorism folks.
Just curious, If you could explain where one would you find the water to irrigate an area the size of the great basin?
And with Remember's help he doesn't miss a beat -- he can now continue to shamefully bash Bush and bash America by saying "EVERY SINGLE MAN, WOMAN AND CHILD IN AMERICA NOW HAS will soon have A $166,000.00 total of PUBLIC DEBT and unfunded liabilities". I suppose next he's going to tell us "WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!"
The rest of us can be happy being alive (still), having more assets than debt, and laughing all the way to the bank. Maybe that's why our side keeps winning elections-- the other day Dennis Prager was pointing out that if you think of it, it's always the happier presidential candidate that wins..
Unfortunately, none of the Federal Reserve banks have ever been audited, so it is difficult to tell with total clarity exactly what happens on the books. Personally, I'd be a lot happier if there was greater transparency into exactly how some parts of the Fed operations work. I'd also prefer that our currency not be monetized through the Fed because of the way this causes undue liabilities to be incurred by the US government.
It is all a complex topic of discussion, and frankly, I don't have the time to go into the kind of detail I'd like. It's also something that I've not really dug into deeply in a while, and I'd need to review some material I have packed up in my archives to feel comfortable about attempting to speak authoritively about some of the weirder things that go on at the Fed from a monetary perspective.
Title is a lie. The per capita public debt might be that amount, but it is not an individual debt.
Every single man, woman and child in America does NOT have a $166,000.00 public debt. It's a nonsensical statement.
Silly question.
Excellent response. It's insane that the govt controls that much land, especially in Alaska.
Put that land to work!
No problem, sell Alaska to the Chinese and Hawaii to the Japanese, that should cover it.
Technically, it's not true. The President himself has no authority to spend money: the President proposes, Congress disposes. Bush however, has sent budgets up to the hill whose increased spending defies imagination. Congress added in there own pork, and he has yet to veto a single spending bill since he got into office.
So, yeah, he's responsible, and so is the Republican-led Congress. Pretty disappointing, isn't it?
Where did you get that number? Fifty trillion? WTF?
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