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Donald Trump's Unusual Plan to Lower the National Debt: Sell Off 19 Trillion In Government Assets
NBC News ^ | 4 hours ago | by ANNE THOMPSON and CHRISTINA COLEBURN

Posted on 04/03/2016 2:28:33 PM PDT by drewh

As president, Donald Trump would sell off $16 trillion worth of U.S. government assets in order to fulfill his pledge to eliminate the national debt in eight years, senior adviser with the campaign Barry Bennett said.

"The United States government owns more real estate than anybody else, more land than anybody else, more energy than anybody else," Bennett told Chris Jansing Sunday on MSNBC. "We can get rid of government buildings we're not using, we can extract the energy from government lands, we can do all kinds of things to extract value from the assets that we hold."

In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post, Trump said he would get rid of the $19 trillion national debt "over a period of eight years." The article noted that most economists would consider Trump's proposal impossible, as it could require slashing the annual federal budget by more than half.

However, when pressed on whether the United States could sell off $16 trillion worth of assets, Bennett responded affirmatively on Sunday.

"Oh, my goodness," he said. "Do you know how much land we have? You know how much oil is off shore? And in government lands? Easily."

The federal government's assets totaled $3.2 trillion as of September 2015, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. However, that does not include include stewardship assets or natural resources.

(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia; US: New York
KEYWORDS: 2016election; abortion; andthenwhat; annethompson; barrybennett; bobwoodward; china; chrisjansing; christinacoleburn; cronycapitalism; cronyism; deathpanels; debt; demagogicparty; districtofcolumbia; election2016; energy; fascism; memebuilding; methane; msnbc; newyork; obamacare; obamarecession; obamataxhikes; opec; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; petroleum; plan; privitization; robertcosta; spendingandselling; trump; trump4sale; unelectable; usa4sale; washingtoncompost; washingtonpost; whatthetrump; zerocare
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To: VTenigma

Of course, no one maintains that. But that kind of response is typical of Cruzers when hit with a brilliant idea. Too unfamiliar to their routine thinking.


241 posted on 04/03/2016 6:11:16 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: theoilpainter

Any country which allows US citizens the right to buy land in them can buy all it wants. Even the Chinese would not be buying it to do nothing with, but create businesses, houses, buildings, chances at wealth creation.


242 posted on 04/03/2016 6:13:53 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: builder

Yet again, Trump shows he is the center of all idea creation in the political world. Unbelievable.


243 posted on 04/03/2016 6:15:18 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: CottonBall
You can post whatever articles you find. I’ve watched all of the debates, and can’t remember Ted bringing up the debt while Trump does over and over. I’ve seen many, many interviews of both - ditto. It’s not a central issue of Cruz’s campaign while it is in Trump’s top 3.

On that fact we also agree. Trump does repeat it often.

But Cruz took tons of heat for his stand to shut down the government to not allow the yearly debt to increase. You have to admit that. He was the one fighting to stop that. BOTH parties fought him tooth and nail on that. I think both Trump and Cruz are smaller government types than anyone else running. We both probably just disagree on which one is really that candidate, or perhaps we just disagree on which one would be most effective at getting smaller government, and lower deficits done. I wish either of those two well in the general election against Bernie or Hillary.

244 posted on 04/03/2016 6:15:39 PM PDT by builder (I don't want a piece of someone else's pie)
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To: drewh
Donald Trump would sell off $16 trillion worth of U.S. government assets in order to fulfill his pledge to eliminate the national debt

What's wrong with that?

"We can get rid of government buildings we're not using

Especially if we tell the worthless, do-nothing political hack bureaucRATs...."YOU'RE FIRED!"

we can extract the energy from government lands, we can do all kinds of things to extract value from the assets that we hold.

What's wrong with that?

Trump said he would get rid of the $19 trillion national debt "over a period of eight years."

What's wrong with that?

...economists would consider Trump's proposal impossible

That means it's possible

...it could require slashing the annual federal budget by more than half

What's wrong with that?

245 posted on 04/03/2016 6:17:04 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Ohhh....Derka derka derka!)
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To: grania

That essentially is what they have already done. The money supply has been expanded. There is no plan to ever retract it. That money is here to stay. The American people have been permanently robbed through higher prices.


246 posted on 04/03/2016 6:19:55 PM PDT by Hoodat (Article 4, Section 4)
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To: VTenigma
Hey, Trump. The government doesn’t own anything. We the people do.

Wrong, grab a map.

It all should be in private ownership.

247 posted on 04/03/2016 6:20:06 PM PDT by ROCKLOBSTER (Ohhh....Derka derka derka!)
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That’s crazy talk. He needs to eliminate half the government agencies and quit subsidizing slothfulness and immorality.


248 posted on 04/03/2016 6:20:34 PM PDT by SisterK (its a spiritual war)
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To: dragnet2

I can assure you there are a lot more than 30 of us. There’d be more but a lot have been banned for their support of Cruz. A lot won’t say anything for fear of being banned or they simply do not like conflict. Some have left of their own for friendlier sites so they don’t have to put up with BS like yours.

Now I know you’d like us all to be banned so you can pretend the Donald is loved by all but unless we’re banned we’re not going anywhere. That’s what you have your pretend “Rally” threads for, so you can go say any nasty, lying thing you want and nobody can correct you. You think you’d be happy with that but not you guys. You have to mess the rest of the site up with your garbage.

Sen. Cruz may not win. I will survive and go on but I can tell you, the Donald isn’t going to win either and you guys will be in total meltdown.

I will enjoy it and you will deserve it.


249 posted on 04/03/2016 6:21:58 PM PDT by beandog (Trump and his supporters have to take the elevator up to even reach the gutter.)
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To: BobL

“Just our Interstates alone are worth several trillion to foreign companies. Of course we’ll then be paying 30 cents per mile to drive on them...”

Even that would revitalize great areas of the country. As those Interstates become toll roads non-commercial traffic would be driven OFF them onto the US highway system.

Thus, all the little towns which once depended upon the traffic of the US highway (often Main Street) could bloom again and actually show the REAL America. These towns were decimated by the Interstate system.

Nothing short of Novocaine is more numbing than Interstate driving dominated by big chains of food, gas, motels, etc.

Often I deliberately avoid the Interstates and have been delighted with the smaller towns with individual personalities and products.


250 posted on 04/03/2016 6:23:26 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: patlin

That simply is not true.


251 posted on 04/03/2016 6:23:55 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: patlin

i just read this thread (busy with gardening) and so far you are the only one who got this right per the constitution. i’ll continue reading now and pray to God that a FEW more do...

thanks for being a Patriot!


252 posted on 04/03/2016 6:24:03 PM PDT by sdpatriot
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To: VRWCarea51

Clearly a better idea. Let the People own it not other politicians.


253 posted on 04/03/2016 6:25:39 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: VTenigma

And...Captain Obvious weighs in.


254 posted on 04/03/2016 6:26:59 PM PDT by guido911 (Please)
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To: CrazyIvan

Nothing is free, contrary to the statements of Bernie the Bum.

Chicago keeps electing these creeps let the voters pay the price. I lived there for 50 yrs - not ONCE did the voters step away from the Machine unless you count Jane Byrne.


255 posted on 04/03/2016 6:29:44 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: ifinnegan
Back in the 80's, people were selling real estate, buildings, like 30 Rock, and the Empire State building, to Japan for 3 and 4 times it's actual worth. A lot of US dollars came back to the States, that had gone overseas as payments for electronics, and smoke stack industry products that no one wanted in the US, any more.

Japan then tried to sell them back, after realizing they'd paid too much, with borrowed money. No buyers, and their economy hasn't recovered, yet.

When I was growing up, you could not see Chicago downtown from I-90 in Gary, Indiana. The air was orange, like the laundry on the lines, the streets and building.

I'll admit I'm torn. A lot of jobs vanished. However, I can breath...

256 posted on 04/03/2016 6:30:36 PM PDT by jonascord (It's sarcasm unless otherwise noted... This time, it's not.)
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To: Cvengr

Land is not Air Force bases.

Don’t think a half-assed effort refutes Trump’s idea.


257 posted on 04/03/2016 6:31:10 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: stockpirate

Nailed it stockpirate. Clowns like this throw out Levinisms and other “constitutional conservative” rantings without any damned context or purpose—save to tell us how much smarter they are about things.


258 posted on 04/03/2016 6:31:28 PM PDT by guido911 (Please)
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To: bobo1

You don’t ride a one-legged horse, do you?


259 posted on 04/03/2016 6:32:14 PM PDT by arrogantsob (Nationalist, Patriot, Trumpman)
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To: drewh

Well, considering how many billions he’s made, I’d give his ideas about how to reduce our debt load a lot of credence.

However, I’d also be in favor of the Fair Tax plan and slashing the Dept of Education, obamacare, welfare and other black holes for money and return control of our lives back to either us or at the very most, the states where they belong.


260 posted on 04/03/2016 6:32:59 PM PDT by metmom (...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith...)
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