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Passing On Debt to Our Children

Published 12/26/07 Economy In Crisis - Print Article
E-mail - editor@economyincisis.org

Some Alarming Facts about the national debt …

$9.13 trillion- the current total of the U.S. National Deficit
$1.4 billion- a day, $1 million every minute- the rate the national debt is expanding
$30,000- owed by every person (including infants) in the U.S.
$5.1 trillion- the amount the debt has risen since January 2001 when George W. Bush took office
$9.82 trillion – the amount the democratic congress recently raised the debt ceiling to
$430 billion- total interest on the national debt last year
$2.4 trillion – estimated cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan over the next decade

Past, Present and Future Projected Debt…
35%- the amount of national debt as a percentage of GDP in 1975
65%- the amount of national debt as a percentage of GDP in 2007
350%- the estimated amount of national debt as a percentage of GDP in 2050

Foreign Ownership of U.S. Debt
$2.23 trillion – the amount foreign governments hold of U.S. Debt, up 9% from 2006
$610 billion- Japan
$407 billion- China
$210 billion- U.K.
$123 billion- Oil Exporters
See complete list here

The national debt is nonpartisan. It belongs to us all, and was created by the faulty policies of both political parties.

Current American debt policy advocates increased spending and reliance on foreign lenders to purchase our debt and prop up our economy. This path is economically unsustainable and dangerous if we want America to be an independent and wealthy nation.

All Americans should encourage their congressional representatives, especially those seeking office in 2008, to come up with solutions to wane us from our debt dependence. We must send a message loud and clear that if they do not address our debts and the other pertinent issues facing the economy they will not receive our vote. We owe it to future generations to leave them a country free from the burdens of our current destructive deficits. It is the least we as Americans can do.

Click here to contact your Representative in Congress.

Unless the above article is already copyrighted, this article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License, EIC grants permission to use this article in whole or in part provided attribution is given, preferably in the form of a link back to EconomyInCrisis.org.

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Article Comments From Readers

guest says "RE: "Nothing to worry about"" on 10/06/08
What has Russell Roberts been smoking?

guest says "National debt" on 01/12/08
Wake up America--Our Reps must find a way to stop the outsourcing and get the american workers back to work or we will be doomed as a nation. I am not smart but I can see an economic crisis coming which could lead to a worldwide collapse.

guest says "We are going to pay the bill ourselves before our children get it" on 12/26/07
The economy is at near collapse now. We are not going to get as far as passing it to our children, we will be paying the bill OURSELVES.

guest says "Nothing to worry about" on 12/26/07
According to GWU's Russell Roberts-a disciple of the late Milton "FreeMarket Friedman-all the fears and worries that authors of this website are overblown and being used to advance an agenda.

His interview on NPR today addressed most of the economic concerns mentioned here.

On immigration: He says that it is nothing to worry about since we are a nation of immigrants, and immigrants do better than their parents economically.

Regrading: Losing jobs to China he says we are not and buying things from China actually means the economy is working here and creating thousands of new jobs.

On sub prime
mortagages/falling home values he says that some areas of the country are actually increasing in value such as Charlotte, NC.

On income he says that median income for families has been growing and improving for 30 years and is now up not down.

Regarding the weak dollar he says that is nothing to worry about because the dollar has always fluctutated.

In terms of new jobs, her says employers are now hiring and increasing both salaries and benefits to attract new labor and retain current labor forces.

Wow! Life is great is'nt it! I feel 10X richer now despite all my expenses for food, gas, health care, and insurance higher than ever and my income for 2007 being the lowest since 1996.

My thanks goes to all the brilliant Free Market economists who may preach whatever they please,rake in 6 figure salaries and have protected and insulated jobs. It must be nice to bat 0000 and never have to defend your analysis or recommendations.

guest says "passing on debt to our children" on 12/26/07
Yes, we are passing on debt to our children. But we are also passing on the entire infrastructure of the United States such as hospitals, roads, universities, sewage syustems, ports, and so on. The questionm is has the government invested its money wisely or not. Why should the generation that is now passing into history pay the entire freight for an infrastructure that will be enjoyed for the most part by our children?