Yes ahh bankruptcy is the way one settles a budget that is beyond fixing rather than continuing to spend spend spend and go deeper into debt forever. Which is something we need in Washington DC.
Remember: "The difference between a master and a beginner is that the master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.” Every successful businessman I know has failed at business many times in his life some all the way to bankruptcy. Business bankruptcy is not something to be ashamed of. It means you tried and failed. Most Americans could not start and run a successful business if their lives depended on it. I've been in business since I was 17 and came close to bankruptcy twice. I was lucky enough to keep it out of court and settle my affairs without the legal eagles and only because those involved knew they were getting a better deal than the courts would award.
Trump has knowledge about financial affairs that these Politiclowns like Cruz and Kasich and Sanders and Clinton will never acquire.
That's not true of the good ones I know. My 'current' boss is highly successful. He recently started an LLC that he ultimately dissolved. He paid all the debts, any way, and hired the employees in his other businesses. I call that 'good'. If Trump really has the $10 billion he claims, he could do the same.
The US government can't default on it's debts. That would crater US and the world economy for decades. Regardless of anyone's pipe dreams, our $20 trillion debt will not be paid off in 8 years. It's a millstone around our grandchildren's neck for their entire lives. You start fixing it by eliminating deficit spending first. Then you think about ways to pay it off.
Mad Dawgg, I have a degree in Econ as well as engineering.
I worked as a for the Army or the fedgov for 25 years.
YES, we can pay down the debt. None of the steps are easy, but:
1. Go thru the entire fed bureaucracy with a complete restructuring. NASA has already been surpassed by the private sector launch biz.
Outsource everything possible. Why does the fedgov have factories? Aircraft repair depots? Nuke weapons manufacturing? In almost every case, you need about 5% of current actual govt employees to manage the contractors who will do the work.
Large numbers of fedgov employees have no discernible product in Dept of Education, Dept of Labor, Commerce, etc. EPA and OSHA could be completely replaced by state agencies regulating workplace safety and environmental pollution.
Like The Donald sez, “Yer fired”.
2. Take a hard look at all entitlements. Drug/alcohol testing to get food stamps, housing, etc. Hard to say it, but we need to have means testing for SS and Medicare. I have a buddy worth over $5M who gets the Obamacare subsidy because he keeps his taxable income low.
3. Reform Medicare and Medicaid to make them more patient-outcome oriented and less bureaucratic.
4. SELL FEDGOV ASSETS! Half of the land West of the Mississippi belongs to the fedgov. Why? Get the land and the minerals and agriculture and forestry into private, American hands. Trade fed bonds for land.
5. Open up our own resources. Fire the greenies from the BLM, Forest Service, Interior Dept, et al. Why are we importing rare earths, titanium, uranium, etc. when there are deposits here to be mined?
The USA should be the Saudi Arabia of coal for export. It is one of the most transportable forms of energy.
6. Legalize drugs (with prescriptions for addicts), put the cartels out of business, and tax them. Yes, it is terrible, but we lost the war on drugs a long time ago.
7. Sue foreign competitors for their offenses, e.g., stealing intellectual property and seize their assets (fed bonds).
How are those for a start?