Do Deficits Matter?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

Do Deficits Matter?
POSTED WITH THE AUTHOR"S PERMISSION from (http://sane-ramblings.blogspot.com/2011/02/do-deficits-matter.html)

The U.S., once the mightiest financial force on earth, can't pay its bills without heavily borrowing and printing money. "Who cares," you may say. The answer is you, for it will have a tremendous impact on you.

Here is a harsh fact: The interest payments on that debt are now $200 billion a year and growing fast and that's at interest rates near zero. What happens when interest rates return to normal levels? It will take a 1/2 trillion or a trillion dollars a year just to pay the debt costs, even if not another nickel was borrowed.

Where will the money come from? The government brings in only 60 cents for every dollar it spends. So will it sharply raise taxes? If so, on whom? Everyone? The wealthy only? Giant corporations? If it's the latter two only, it won't raise nearly enough money. Will it slash spending? If so, what will it slash? Social Security? Medicare? ObamaCare? Unemployment benefits? Education? Military? What ever they choose, jobs across the nation will be lost. One of those jobs may be yours.

In any case, if they don't sharply hike tax rates and slash military spending, even cutting it in half, any plan is doomed to failure.

If it doesn't take these actions, the government will go broke. Yet everyone thinks it can't happen here and if it did, it can't happen now, and if it did it can't happen to them. But it has happened to most of Europe, most of Asia and most of Latin America and this time it is America's turn.

What is happening now is like the run-up in housing prices a few years ago. Anyone paying attention knew it was unsustainable, but mass denial allowed it to continue until it exploded with consequences that have only just begun. The worst is yet to come. But the Fed didn't see it coming nor did the rest of the government, nor most of the economists and pundits.

If you are an American, please raise your voice, for it is in your silence this out of control spending is taking place. If you are a foreign national, brace yourself for America is well on its way to defaulting on its debts to you. If we Americans do nothing our dollar will be destroyed and it will take our savings with it. It can and will happen here.

[TBF]

1. Funny, you weren't concerned about this when Bush was president. nt

[old mark]

2. They are not nearly as important as employment. The GOPers LOVE to panic

people with this shit to discredit Democrats when it was actually the republicans who created the defecit to begin with, and I am positive if the GOP regains the presidency and morte of congress, they will continue to stack up the unpaid debts while destrroying the working class, unions and what little social support system we still have left.

Republicans are lying fucking weasels, all of them.

mark

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

3. We all agree it was Bush with his wreckless, unfunded policies...

...tax cuts along with wars which caused this mess. But a mess it is. Don't you wish President Obama had raised taxes to levels
that more equaled what we spend and stopped spending money on wars and weapons that only harm people. Is that such a bad idea?

But Our President has not fought for these logical solutions. Has he?

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

4. "In any case, if they don't sharply hike tax rates and slash military spending..

...any plan is doomed to failure."