General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe U.S. national debt is rising by $1 trillion about every 100 days
This topic isn't discussed enough.
Here's the deal. Some argue that debt is irrelevant and I disagree. Here's why.
The US Gov't SELLS it's debt... auctions bonds. Right now... the US is paying around 5% (ish) to borrow money.
Some people may say "That's ok WG, that interest is going to little old Ladies in Sheboygan"
Yeah, actually it's NOT. You see... the REALLY wealthy are looking for a safe place to PARK billions. So they buy Fed treasuries and collect the interest.
For every $100M invested, the US Gov't PAYS 5 Million DOLLARS a year. Oh let me rephrase that. School teachers, auto mechanics, nurses and McDonalds employees pay billionaires to PARK their cash in US Treasuries.
And guess what? Foreign countries ALSO buy US debt... to collect the Cheddar paid by the US taxpayer.
This nation... other than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren... has an aversion to REALLY fixing the "incoming" side of the US budget.
I'm really liking the "mint the trillion dollar coin" idea... and then starting from scratch, balancing budgets annually.
Our tax system... our wealth inequality issue is fatally broken. All this talk of incrasing marginal top rates from 37% to 39.6% or 40% are a joke... people like Musk, Bezos and Zuck are LAUGHING at the thought...
The truly RICH DO NOT HAVE REGULAR INCOME.
#WealthTaxNow
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/01/the-us-national-debt-is-rising-by-1-trillion-about-every-100-days.html
The debt load of the U.S. is growing at a quicker clip in recent months, increasing about $1 trillion nearly every 100 days.
The nations debt permanently crossed over to $34 trillion on Jan. 4, after briefly crossing the mark on Dec. 29, according to data from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It reached $33 trillion on Sept. 15, 2023, and $32 trillion on June 15, 2023, hitting this accelerated pace. Before that, the $1 trillion move higher from $31 trillion took about eight months.
U.S. debt, which is the amount of money the federal government borrows to cover operating expenses, now stands at nearly $34.4 trillion, as of Wednesday. Bank of America investment strategist Michael Hartnett believes the 100-day pattern will remain intact with the move from $34 trillion to $35 trillion.
doc03
(35,564 posts)ran on tax cuts for the rich for decades. I read a couple days ago the Chinese national debt is over 300 trillion.
jimfields33
(16,496 posts)25 percent to 400,000
60 percent from 401,000 to a million
75 percent for a million and one dollar and up
Its the only way it will work. Otherwise, the future will be hell for everyone.
Polybius
(15,633 posts)Keep the rest as you stated. After 10 million it goes to 90%.
jimfields33
(16,496 posts)However 90 percent over 10 million sounds good.
I believe that Repub Senate and congressional candidates still have to sign promises to decrease taxes in order to get campaign funds from Koch, Heritage, etc.
BootinUp
(47,317 posts)Biden's $7.3 trillion budget for the 2025 fiscal year ? a 4.7% increase over the current budget ? seeks to boost defense spending by 1% and non-defense discretionary spending by 2.4%.
The spending complies with caps that House Republicans pushed in last year's Fiscal Responsibility Act in exchange for raising the debt limit. Although the budget has no chance of advancing in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, it establishes Biden's priorities for the campaign and creates contrasts for an election rematch against presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
"We are the only nation that has emerged from every crisis we have entered stronger than we went in. While my Administration has seen great progress since day one, there is still work to do. My Budget will help make that promise real," Biden wrote in a budget document to Congress.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/03/11/biden-federal-budget-proposal-takeaways/72929087007/
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WarGamer
(12,719 posts)doc03
(35,564 posts)pay off the national debt, then came "W" to blow it up. The Republicans don't give a rat's ass about debt until there
is a Democrat in the Whitehouse.
MichMan
(12,041 posts)True, they were responsible for passing the balanced budgets during Clinton's 2nd term.
But this impacts our ability to do stimulatory spending the next time there is a downturn.
doc03
(35,564 posts)seams to be an unlimited supply of money when it is the economy or another war. The way we deal with debt is inflation.