How do you feel about the US national debt?
@banknotelover95 (34)
Singapore
April 9, 2009 8:32pm CST
As of April 7, 2009, the US national debt was $11,152,772,833,835.89. If you are a US citizen, your share of the national debt is about $36,676. With the Wall Street bailouts getting larger and larger, the national debt is going to increase further. The bailouts in 2008 already caused the national debt to increase by more than $1.5 trillion.
This still does not include the unfunded liabilities like Social Security, which the government admitted in 2000 were not backed by actual funds in the government. So Social Security is actually a figment of our imagination!
How do you feel about this? Do you think the Obama administration will resolve this? Will the government resolve the national debt issue? Will the bailouts finally end?
3 responses
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
11 Apr 09
The national debt is very troubling, and it needs to be taken care of. But, just like in the 90's this can be fixed, it will just take a leader to do it. You are going to have to raise taxes, cut spending, and increase the economy all at the same time. Our national debt didn't get this big in three months, and it will take alot longer than three months to get it down to the pre-Bush era numbers.
When it comes to Social Secruity, do you remember the Social Security lock box? We have had huge deficits, and we have had huge surpluses when it comes to Social Security. But, it will be drained by many baby boomers who are going to use it to retire on, which isn't what it was suppose to be used for. In order to get it to work, you will have to cut bennifits, and maybe increase the retirement age. But again, it can be fixed if the country WANTS to do it.
@banknotelover95 (34)
• Singapore
11 Apr 09
Baby boomers start retiring by 2016, and when Social Security was enacted there were 34 workers per retiree, while now there are only 3.3 workers per retiree. By 2016 it is projected that there will only be 2 workers per retiree. So the Social Security issue is quite troubling. When the bulk of baby boomers start to retire, will there be enough funds for all these baby boomers?
1 person likes this
@thegreatdebater (7316)
• United States
11 Apr 09
Bank, baby boomers are already starting to retire, they just aren't getting social security yet. I agree this is a very big problem, and it needs to be taken care of. We will have to set wage limits on social security, and we may have to increase the age to start with. I had a boss that was a multi-millionaire, and he received his social security check every month, and he was so happy to get it so he could use it to put fuel in $500,000 boat. That is just one example of a person who shouldn't get social security, and who doesn't deserve it. The other problem is that people are living much longer than they did before, so social security will have to be used longer by more people. The only thing I can tell you is that the country will have to make a choice because my generation, and those to come will be paying into a system that we will never see any bennifit from.
@Adoniah (7513)
• United States
10 Apr 09
We do not actually own our country anymore. Our debt is being bought up by China and the Arab Emerites. One day we will have learn all new languages because English will not be the language of this country anymore. There is no way that we will ever get out from under all of this debt. At any time the paper holders can just walk in and say WE OWN YOU!!!!
Shalom~Adoniah
@qwertyuiop54321 (62)
• Singapore
10 Apr 09
Sad. I think US printing more $$ to fund it is just going to screw the economy up. I hope this ends soon.
