The U.S. government has officially hit its debt ceiling. Beginning today, the Treasury Department is taking “extraordinary measures” to keep the government from defaulting on its debt which now exceeds $13 trillion.
Our debt is relevant only if:
a) we cannot afford to pay the interest on it. Or
b) we cannot afford to pay it off. Or
c) the conservatives in Congress refuse to pay the interest on it.
The interest on our debt in 2014 was $231 billion, or 6 percent of our national budget. That amounts to 1.3 percent of our GDP. My 3rd grade class of economists is giggling because they know those percentages are tiny.
They also can do subtraction in their heads. They know our national net worth is $97 trillion, and that $97 trillion minus $13 trillion would reduce our national debt to zero while still leaving us $84 trillion in net worth. We would still be the richest country in the world. (More giggling).
So why would the conservative element of Congress refuse to pay the interest on our debt? Third graders, what is your answer…
BECAUSE THEY ARE TROUBLEMAKERS WHO CAN’T COUNT, CAN’T ADD, AND CAN’T SUBTRACT!
Thank you children. You all get an A in math and in economics. What grade would you give the conservatives in Congress?
THEY DESERVE AN F AND SENT HOME FOR NOT DOING THEIR JOB.
Thank you, children. You also get an A in civics, citizenship, and logic. I only wish you could vote.
I used "debt held by the public" as my definition of the amount that you and I owe. That total is approx. $13 trillion. There is an additional $5 trillion of "intragovernmental debt," money borrowed between government agencies that began with the Reagan administration and continues today. This is an accounting figure that is virtually meaningless in that it is owed by the government to the government and will never be repaid. Put the two together, and we arrive at "gross debt," or $18 trillion, a figure used by politicians to overstate the public debt. However...you did cause me to look up the value used in establishing the debt ceiling, and Voilà!--it's the gross debt number that includes the $5 trillion that nobody intends to ever repay. So, you beat me on a technicality, Danae, and now I must go back to my class of 3rd graders to see if I still have a job. Oh, the humiliation...
According to the gov, it's 18 trillion as of today. But still a fraction of our national net worth. Yes, it seems that conservatives like to bury their heads in the sand or outright lie just to get the far right to vote for them. They play dumb with the dumber of their electorate. D
Third graders have been doing their best for generations, beating up the sons of the power brokers at recess. Unfortunately, only 'top down' bullying is permitted these days. Thanks for the refresher course, Teach.
Reviewed by Ronald Hull
Reviewed on March 17, 2015
Perfect logic. These jokers don't know what logic is. They operate on faith… Faith that someone, very rich, will make them very rich. They love to cut corners and save money as long as it doesn't affect their pockets.
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Thanks for reminding us once again…
Ron
Love ya!
Jane