National debt tops 31 Trillion for the first time

This was posted somewhere else, but here goes again. Next month, October, the interest payment is due on our debt. The payment is nearing $1trillion dollars. Failure to pay will result in a catastrophic event worldwide.

Interest Payment
 

Don M. said:
The US ran up a massive debt during WWII. However, the people and Politician's, back then, accepted the responsibility, and raised taxes that reached as high as 92% on individual incomes and corporate profits and by the mid 1950's that huge debt was pretty much resolved. I guess the people back then cared more for the nation than today's population, Eventually, if today's trends continue, half out population will be thrust into poverty as the dollar becomes almost worthless.
Click to expand...
At the same time we had high taxes on the rich, we had a booming economy!

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton raised the top rate from 28% to 39.6%. The economy soared and we had a balanced budget!
 
It is much like a family budget just increasing the income does not work as well as ........combining cuts in spending and waste.

Talking taxes in terms of percentages means very little as the "rich" do not pay that rate anyway the deduction / work around and loopholes cut the actual tax to much less...

My pet peeve is the super wealthy giving multiple interviews saying "they could pay more".... then ...DO IT.
They can pay as much as they want to. Here is a Treasury .GOV site that ANYONE can make gifts to pay down debt....... Pay.gov - Gifts to Reduce the Public Debt
there is this information in tax instructions used to be on the forms.
Maybe their accountant did not inform them that they can do this OR no one is twisting their arms to have accountant scour for every tax loophole they can ....the IRS would be fine with them just taking the standard deduction.

Perhaps we should have a telethon like the old days .... QR codes or jars for change and a crying Uncle Sam for the pity factor.

instead we change things and make it more complicated If this or that applies but you can do this or that to get credits
or more hoops to jump through... by a Tesla we will subsidize it / other EV's as well Average folks this is not enough to make these affordable so why do we pretend it is.

The complication is probably just a way to increase the CPA field not everyone can pay for the expert and retail places your know names HR or Jackson etc... make errors in a ridiculous % of clients. Recent reports say IRS employees including contract staff owe 46 million and have so for years...could not find their office? or track where they are???? Lol
IRS proudly saying they have collected from people who failed to file in the 2016-2017 years seriously 8 years to figure it out....
 

This post originated in October of 2022, the debt was $31 trillion at that time. Today we are over $35 trillion and adding close to $2 trillion per year. During the period of 2016 to 2020 the debt went up by $8 trillion. I can't see how the U.S. will survive this level of financial recklessness. Here's a few statistics:
Total Debt$35,261,153,500,900.00
Number of citizens336,830,098
Number of taxpayers129,577,499
Debt per citizen$104,685.28
Debt per taxpayer$272,124.05

https://www.usdebtclock.org/
 
HermitHogan said:
At the same time we had high taxes on the rich, we had a booming economy!

In the 1990s, Bill Clinton raised the top rate from 28% to 39.6%. The economy soared and we had a balanced budget!
Click to expand...

The idea that the sad sorry rich people are going to crumble if taxes are raised is silly hyperbole. Driven people are driven, and rich people will not only remain rich (it's all about relativity) but they will remain driven enough to continue bringing in the cash - no? Some people can afford to give more than others. The only difference is that rich people can afford better lobbyists.
 
spectratg said:
It's not going to get any lower! Debt to GDP ratio has exceeded 100% and has doubled since 2011. Much of the yearly spending is for mandatory programs. That includes Social Security and Medicare for us old folks. Yea, yea I know that is money that we have paid into and are owed blah, blah. The so-called "trust fund" is just smoke and mirrors, accounting gimmickry; since Lyndon Johnson it's all been part of the general revenue fund.
Click to expand...
Blah, blah??
Unlike other expenditures, that is money we paid in. It was not voluntary, it was mandatory. Mandatory is not amusing.
 
When macro-economics is thought of my me it is like figuring out quantum physics. Way too involved for me. That leaves me with a sense of not understanding our economy. So who do I listen to when it comes time to vote? It is beyond me, and politicians will say anything to make it all be better, no matter who. If I listen to the financial guru's on YouTube, they vary in their approaches, and can be exactly opposite in methods. I think the more out of touch we are with our money, the more they can use it just the way THEY want, and I don't have anything I can do about it. You barely can use cash anymore.
 
I traded Bitcoin and had a good return on it. I sold everything I had in Bitcoin this past July 6. Now, itā€™s too expensive to buy enough to make a lot of money on it. If China ever starts accepting it, I would imagine it will soar. The last I read was that China may try to establish their own cryptocurrency.
 
Washington doesnā€™t worry about debt. Thatā€™s what we have printing presses for. Itā€™s common practice for Republicans to bring up the debt each time a Democratic president wants money for his agenda items. When a Republic president is in office, then itā€™s the Democrats turn to make the debt an issue. In reality, the politicians couldnā€™t care less about the debt.
 
Don M. said:
Billionaires seem to be investing more and more in Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin...Probably because they feel that the Dollar will become increasingly worthless. If our government doesn't start taking steps to reduce this ridiculous debt, the bulk of our population will take a major hit....and not too far into the future.

Billionaires Are Selling Nvidia Stock and Buying an Index Fund That Could Soar Up to 77,675%, According to Wall Street Experts
Click to expand...
Probably because when you're a billionaire the scale of reward has to be that much higher to be interesting so they go for the lottery of crypto. Normal ppl are very happy owing Nvidia based on $US.
 
Hard times are just over the horizon. Our elected officials refuse to raise taxes and they just keep borrowing more and more. It's all about votes and keeping our elected officials in power.

Global warming and the national debt are 2 topics that much is written and spoken about but nothing really is done!

It's like everyone is keeping their heads in the sand.
 
I did not read the whole thread, but there's something I'm curious about the economy. In relation to higher interest rates, I heard that inflation was high because of people's stimulus checks during the pandemic that upped their spending habits. Now inflation is headed down, and I hear it's because money from the stimulus checks is running out.

Now, I remember two or three years ago, I received two stimulus checks, each one being basically equal to a monthly Social Security check. For most people, two social security checks does not a spending spree make, at least not one lasting two or three years.

What am I missing here?
 
No one cares about cutting the deficit. It's too much fun to hand out money. Getting more taxes out of the rich would help, but we also need spending curbs. This will never happen.
 
JustDave said:
I did not read the whole thread, but there's something I'm curious about the economy. In relation to higher interest rates, I heard that inflation was high because of people's stimulus checks during the pandemic that upped their spending habits. Now inflation is headed down, and I hear it's because money from the stimulus checks is running out.

Now, I remember two or three years ago, I received two stimulus checks, each one being basically equal to a monthly Social Security check. For most people, two social security checks does not a spending spree make, at least not one lasting two or three years.

What am I missing here?
Click to expand...
There were 3 stimulus checks, in mid 2020; late 2020; then spring of 2021. There were a lot of lockdowns, etc. which had people spending less by staying at home, etc.

The 3rd stimulus check coincided with the rollout of the vaccine and proclamations that the cure had arrived and it was safe to resume normal life.
A massive jump in sales across the board exposed a broken supply chain which resulted in retailers, along with others needing to stock for the massive surge that was created almost overnight.

You can't sell something, if you don't have it, which led to paying premiums to stock those shelves. There were other factors throughout 2021 and especially 2022, that played a roll. Massive front loading of imported goods during the supply chain crisis, further exacerbated that crisis, which was due to an impending west coast port strike, that was resolved prior to walkout. As well, as the Texas Freeze and impact on gasoline prices, and then Ukraine.

That's my 2Ā¢ worth.
 
ā†‘ ā†‘ ... 34.4 Trillion this year. Congress, Courts & Legislatures can most likely be blamed for most all Pork & Fat problems.
Most of the Debt call it roughly in the 90% is owned by the US, its trust funds etc. but money isn't there! See the US Treasury
Collected less than $5 Trillion in 2023?

IOU's is what it is. I have some friends who want to borrow from me all the time. Keep em by not!
 
Last edited:
Don M. said:
Billionaires seem to be investing more and more in Cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin...Probably because they feel that the Dollar will become increasingly worthless. If our government doesn't start taking steps to reduce this ridiculous debt, the bulk of our population will take a major hit....and not too far into the future.

Billionaires Are Selling Nvidia Stock and Buying an Index Fund That Could Soar Up to 77,675%, According to Wall Street Experts
Click to expand...
Soar up to 77,675%!!!!! Why stop there? Since itā€™s an ā€œup toā€ number why not round it up to 100,000%? Or go all the way to 1,000,000%?

Remeber that line from Fiddler On The Roof? ā€œIt doesnā€™t matter if Iā€™m right or wrong. When youā€™re rich they think you really knowā€.

Just because our elected leaders inflate the currency, does not mean Bitcoin or any other crypto currency will go up. Personally, Iā€™ll invest in stocks of companies that own valuable things like real estate, factories, warehouses, raw materials. Heck, just buy and store food. These are all a lot more usable than crypto currencies.
 
Last edited:
ohioboy said:
Yes, I already saw that before I posted the question. They have the lowest GDP in the world. I'm not an economist, but I guess that is figures in at # 1??
Click to expand...
Luxembourg is a beautiful small country with a low crime rate. Itā€™s been about 10 years since I was there, but I remember it well and think about going back to visit. Maybe in the spring.
 


Back
Top