US debt passes 13 trillion

[rtil]

just looking at this thing gives me a migraine
http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[Sapphire]

the numbers won't stop going up aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah

[Crabarms]

That's not going to go down anytime soon.

[shura]

i cannot even wrap my head around that number

[Daveb0t]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRgRz3nSG7o
or
http://www.theonion.com/articles/white-hou...-of-soar,17495/

[Sapphire]

^ Lmao, I remember that.

But it's true. We're never gonna pay them back.

[Jeinu]

i cannot even wrap my head around that number

i'm reading a math book right now that actually tries to describe how to put the national debt's enormous number into layman's terms ("chaos,coincidences, and all that math jazz" - very good book, fun read even if you don't like math)

the example it gives is if the US paid off a million dollars an HOUR, every hour, every day, every year, non-stop, we would not be out of debt for another 800 years.

of course, that number isn't really valid anymore because the book was written in 2005, when the national debt was a mere 7 trillion dollars.

ouch

[Taokaka]

dear lord those numbers are doing things


If every citizen paid $5 every hour, we'd be debt free in less than a year.

Of course, that's every citizen paying an annual total of $43,800

[jjjjjjjjjj]

meh we'll be fine

[Daveb0t]

dont worry I'LL be fine

[tmk]

90% debt to gdp ratio, fuckkkk

[Fuzz]

I think what we need to do is borrow more money from China, and then fake our own death.

[zhicago]

my head cant really wrap around a country in debt, probably because i know that when people are in debt they tend to not spend their money on things/really cut back. but when a country is in debt it cant cut back on a whole lot because the majority of the stuff they pump money out to is essential. so will we just keep climbing further and further into debt or what, i just cant
i cant
my
head


aaa

[rtil]

but when a country is in debt it cant cut back on a whole lot because the majority of the stuff they pump money out to is essential.

actually the only reason a government can spend while in debt is simply because they can. because governments today issue currencies in fiat (paper) money, they can print more of it when they need it, sell it in bonds and treasuries, and borrow foreign money. this is of course at the expense of the taxpayer, but they always try to justify the spending. i would argue that there's probably $1 trillion in spending the government could eliminate with no blowback - most of it in the military industrial complex and foreign wars. in fact, ending all our wars would probably improve our image around the world greatly.

most of the rest of our debt spending is bureaucratic nonsense that its completely bankrupting itself, mostly in the healthcare department.

the money we actually have is partly wasted on wasteful pork projects that senators and house reps use to make their constituents feel like their representatives are bagging enough money for their state/district

[creamcorn]

i dont know shit about economy but will this affect other countries as well

[rtil]

will this affect other countries as well

the debt rising won't, but what it's leading to will - and that is the collapse of the dollar. it will affect every nation because the united states dollar is the reserve currency of the world, meaning any country that wants to do international transactions must buy, hold and sell dollars. but the nations that will feel it the most are the ones dumb enough to buy our bonds and treasuries in debt (namely japan and china). china's currency is so closely tied to the dollar that they literally have to keep buying american debt in order to keep their currency afloat while purposely keeping it deflated.

there are three things america can do with the debt crisis:
1. default on the debt. a hard choice for politicians but a good way to start clean. the problem is our only excuse for defaulting is "we spent too much money on things we didn't need or couldn't afford", and i have a feeling no country is feeling that apologetic. also all the bonds and treasury bills maturing would be eliminated and have zero returns. this doesn't hurt america but it deeply hurts foreign debt buyers.

2. print trillions of dollars to pay it all off. this will hyper-inflate the dollar, consequently making it worthless. the dollar will have to be thrown out and america will spend decades recovering, as well as most of the world. this is the most likely option a politician is to choose, as its short-term benefits outweigh the damage it will do to generations after them. but they don't care because they are only in it for the moment and instant gratification of constituents who are too stupid to realize what they're doing.

3. balance the budget. the most obvious choice but something politicians are unable to do because they do not understand economics. so hopefully americans will stop electing dingbats who can only make a good speech and get in bed with lobbyists and start electing businessmen and women with fiscal responsibility at the forefront of their campaigns (and a track record to prove it).

[BluPhoenix]

at least the US's TOTAL debt is going down.

[TimmyTurnersDad]

As the ancient Hawaiians say, good thing we don't live in stupid faggot America of course that isn't true anymore.

[MarcK]

[rtil]

i'd live there.