What would really happen if we paid off the national debt?
By schilds
@schilds (410)
United States
March 25, 2008 3:39pm CST
This is a subject that my economics professor touched on, but always returns to mind around election times. If our government were to actually get it together (congress, president, federal reserve...) and start paying off the national debt, what would happen? Say they paid back $1trillion per year - that would take $1trillion out of our economy. How would our economy bouce back from that each year? Is it even realistic to believe that we could survive paying off our national debt? What is the solution?
1 person likes this
2 responses
@peavey (16936)
• United States
25 Mar 08
What a dream, huh? 
If they would quit paying out some other things that are not only unnecessary, but stupid (like aid to our enemies), they could pay off the national debt and it wouldn't hurt our economy. There's a lot of excess and waste in our global dealings just like there is in our national dealings.
If they would quit paying out some other things that are not only unnecessary, but stupid (like aid to our enemies), they could pay off the national debt and it wouldn't hurt our economy. There's a lot of excess and waste in our global dealings just like there is in our national dealings. @schilds (410)
• United States
26 Mar 08
I agree with you on the stupidity of a lot of our foreign aid - but that is really a very small part of our yearly budget. But the national debt is created money (most all debt is). Banks use your money to secure a loan to someone else - they don't actually give them your money. So this nearly 10 trillion dollars is money that is actually circulated throughout our global economy. What would happen if this money dissappeared? How could it not affect our economy?
@kykidd (6812)
• United States
25 Mar 08
It seems like we did have it paid off about 12 or so years ago, or maybe it just was down quite a bit. That was after the lottery was spread through more states and Mexico paid back a bunch of money that they owed us. At that time the economy was in much better shape.
