Posted on 06/26/2009 7:00:18 PM PDT by Kaslin
In a 1789 letter to James Madison, Thomas Jefferson wrote: "The earth belongs to each of these generations, during its course, fully, and in their own right. The 2d. generation receives it clear of the debts and encumbrances of the 1st. The 3d of the 2d. and so on. For if the 1st. could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not the living generation. Then no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence."
What would Thomas Jefferson think today, as the Obama administration puts this generation on a path to drive the debt sky-high, effectively leaving our children and grandchildren to foot the bill?
Over the past 40 years, U.S. debt has averaged 36% of our gross domestic product. Because of the current economic downturn and the fact that the government has had to serve as a lender of last resort to stabilize the financial system, we are seeing what should be only a short-term spike in our debt levels.
By the end of this fiscal year, our publicly-held debt will be about 57% of GDP. This is not a good situation, but a temporary spike in debt can be managed, just as it was in the past when we were facing the crises of World Wars I and II, the Civil War and the War of Independence. In those instances, debt was rapidly paid off during the postwar periods.
(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...
Does anybody know which president was in office when we started allowing debt to pile up?
It doesn’t matter, because it does not justify quadrupling it in 6 months!!! I am tired of the “he started it” mantra. Zero can blame no one but himself, if he had desired to blame the previous administration, he lost that right when he made it 5 times worse. The only way he could hang it on the previous administration would be if he had backtracked, cut taxes, cut the size of govt. and stopped the spending. he didn.t, he made it worse, therefore it is his.
He would be leading another revolution, against the tyranny of the state - again.
Henry Adams said that no American dies in the country in which he was born, i.e. America changes so much in one generation. As I look about me I find that to be a sad truth.
>The last President to leave the country debt free was Andrew Jackson, back in the 1830s. I believe the last President to reduce the total public debt was Calvin Coolidge, back in the 1920s.
Yet another reason to like Silent Cal.
Woodrow Wilson. It all started with the creation of the Federal Reserve.
You’re right there. I was thinking more along the lines of the World Bank, then the International Monetary Fund. Brussels.
Thank you! I'm tired of it too.
Amazing << Hear this. Feel this, and tell me that this isn't music.
Oh, dear...
Well it is beautiful music!!
From the chart below your post, 1915 looks to be about the last year.
I probably still have his letter.
We all know the Fed is unConstitutional, according to the Founding Fathers' original intentions - to keep us free of scoundrels!
Now, think about this: We have fiat money forced on us, not even backed by our productivity as in the past. Dumbed-down future generations will be illegally in hock - forever, and they won't even know! Unless some miracle happens.
We, the People, are not obligated to support an illegal set-up, a Ponzi scheme, meant to rob us of our wealth. We put extortionists in jail.
I submit to you that there is a way of fighting this scheme and that, for years, the Supreme Court has been remiss in blindly accepting the validity of a private corporation printing worthless currency as legal tender, then charging United States' citizens interest.
With a great and thoughtful membership on FR, some really brilliant minds, surely we can come together with the way to counter the Fed's scheme.
Lame as my writing is, I am sincere. I appreciate your posts, one and all.
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