71 National Debt

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Currently, the U.S National Debt is $18 trillion, that's larger than the GNP, equivalent to over $150,000 owed per taxpayer. The reason is that Americans live as if there are no budget constraints: The Rich continue not paying enough taxes to cover the yearly national budget deficit, and beneficiaries of Government largess continue to receive their bounty. The National Debt is simply a 35 year accumulation of the Budget Deficit, and there's no end in sight. In years past severe angst & much gnashing of teeth accompanied any discussion of a National Debt: many doomsayers predicted ruin, gold shot up in value, and essentially nothing happened. That isn't to say there won't be a reckoning eventually but what form it may take is unknown: we certainly cannot predict the future by looking at the past.<br /><br />Treasury Bonds last > 10 years, and many, like EE, last 20-30 years. Debt with that kind of maturity is essentially passing the bill to the next generation. Also, older people tend to be the ones that have accrued enough money that they can buy Treasury Bonds, and a large percentage of them will have died during the 10-30 year period, making some portion of their debt subject to Estate Tax, thereby further reducing the obligation. Inflation over 20 years is also a significant reduction, especially if the Bonds are very low yield, as they are now, which are essentially at zero. And as a final resort, the U.S. government could simply print its way out of debt, so in reality the U.S. has no apocalyptic debt burden. The goal should be to keep people employed, prevent shortages, and let Market Forces take care of the rest.</p>