What Happens Next?

[Possumpoint]

Last figure I heard on the National Debt was 11.3 Trillion Dollars. That is with the TARP program added in. Interest on that with 5% interest will be 565 Billion Dollars a year. The Income Tax pulls in 1.4 Trillion Dollars. That leaves 835 Billion Dollars for other purposes. Our national budget is closer to 2 trillion. Continued deficit spending will only make things worse. Now in an effort to gain the support of the Republicans there is talk of a 300 Billion Dollar reduction in income taxes so they will swallow the deficit spending for years.

We are printing and borrowing money in an effort to give it to whomever, to stabilize this economy. What will be the end result? We are bankrupt in that we can't pay the interest and carry all the other expenses of this government. No one wants to talk about it. No one wants to face that fact that both our empire and government must be reduced in size. Tell you what, when the foreign investors decide that the dollar is a bad investment and stop buying treasuries, we'll be talking about it.

We are in a pinch. Like you do with a household budget, we must reduce the size and spending of this government. Stop the bailouts. Let the chips fall where they may and rebuild stronger on a sound financial footing.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

1. As long as no one realizes that money's an abstract thing we'll be fine.

Shh. It's our secret.

[Deja Q]

2. What if we're stabilizing it so the offshoring of everything can continue?

Obviously that's the worst case tinfoil hat scenario and something about it doesn't come across as being true either. It is about deregulation and sleazy greed.

No different than the man who wants 100 wives but doesn't want herpes but puts to death any woman he gives herpes to.

And what that tangent meant, I have no clue whatsoever. All I know is, New York City's current stats reveal 1 out of every 4 people has it. I don't think it's worth having, but they must've wanted it...

:shrug:

[Hydra]

3. I still think they are devaluing the currency in order to switch to a new one

But we'll just have to see. In the mean time, you can bet they will run the deficit up to 15 trillion- you don't think the Military is willing to slash their $1+ trillion allotment every year, do you?

[Mugweed]

4. I thought smaller government was a Republican talking point.

The whole reduce the size of the government, it spends too much....sounds kinda like a right-wing/libertarian mantra.

Now I can agree that the Department of Fatherland Security should be disbanded, along with reducing spending by ending the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and by ending financial support to Israel and other countries who don't deserve or need it.

[Possumpoint]

5. In My Belief System

There is a balance on what government can afford and what it spends. If you want government to spend more then you should raise revenues to cover it. Our politicians have found that they can spend more and reduce taxes to please the voters. They don't care and we don't have a balanced budget because of the fiat money and Federal Reserve system congress created. More debt is incurred without caring about future pay back. We are at the point of having a bankrupt financial system. That doesn't mean that the government can't continue to borrow and print money. Thus giving the allusion of being solvent.

However, we may be past the point where the debts incurred can be paid. Very few politicians are even willing to talk about the future obligations coming due. At this point, every man, woman and child citizen owes over $37,000 in debt on top of any other taxes owed.

We simply can't continue to spend, spend, spend without regard to the debt. It is my belief that continuing to do so will result in investors losing confidence in the dollar. When that happens we're dead in the water.

[Odin2005]

7. Deficit spending is neccessary in a bad recession/depression.

cutting spending and raising taxes is the LAST thing we should be doing right now. Read up on Keynesian economics and quit regurgitating Libertarian BS about the supposed evils of fiat currency.

[Deja Q]

8. Agreed, but we also need to produce products and services here too.

While companies develop offshore, they claim we at home need experience (even if we have the education). So where does one get the experience? The gap is hard not to spot.

[Odin2005]

9. Yup. to quote what HamdenRice posted in Economics:...

GDP = Consumption + Invstment + government spending + net export income

For Consumption you need to keep wages up.

For Investment you need high corporate taxes, high capital gain taxes, and low interest rates. if corporate and capital gains taxes are too low while at the same time interest rates are too high (Hey Alan Greenshit, I'm talking to you!) the rich are tempted to invest their money into financial speculation and thus blowing speculative financial bubbles, then actual investment into the infrastructure of the economy.

For government spending we need to reject Reaganist anti-government BS.

For exports we need to create new manufacturing jobs and stop outsourcing old ones

[annabanana]

6. Let's see.. exactly WHICH spending?.. . . defense?. . massive tax givaways

to the most efficient offshorers?. . . tiny little tax rates for income received for sitting on your ass doing nothing?