So we hit the debt limit...

[grumbler]

Heh, they're debating about getting the budget balanced in 5 to 10 years! Then there will be the need to start  paying off a by then 15-20 trillion dollar deficit! Staggering sums of money.   

The US is a staggeringly wealthy nation, to be able to rack up such massive debt!   

Of course, inflation will be causing a sizable chunk of that debt, but you are correct to note that the total debt will come within striking range of the greatest level of total debt the US faced (WW2).  The country paid down that debt, but I don't think there will be the same will to pay down this one.  That is what staggers me.

[grumbler]

Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that is where the money is.  In the federal budget, the money is the "mandatory" spending categories, and entitlements in particular.

Agreed.  Talking about ending the deficits without addressing the entitlement programs is a waste of breath.  Rolling back the retirement age and rethinking medical provisions for the dying will almost certainly be needed, IMO, along with some less drastic measures.

[MadImmortalMan]

US borrowing tops 100% of GDP: Treasury


US debt shot up $238 billion to reach 100 percent of gross domestic project after the government's debt ceiling was lifted, Treasury figures showed Wednesday.

Treasury borrowing jumped Tuesday, the data showed, immediately after President Barack Obama signed into law an increase in the debt ceiling as the country's spending commitments reached a breaking point and it threatened to default on its debt.

The new borrowing took total public debt to $14.58 trillion, over end-2010 GDP of $14.53 trillion, and putting it in a league with highly indebted countries like Italy and Belgium.

Public debt subject to the official debt limit -- a slightly tighter definition -- was $14.53 trillion as of the end of Tuesday, rising from the previous official cap of $14.29 trillion a day earlier.

Treasury had used extraordinary measures to hold under the $14.29 trillion cap since reaching it on May 16, while politicians battled over it and over addressing the country's bloating deficit.

The official limit was hiked $400 billion on Tuesday and will be increased in stages over the next 18 months.

The last time US debt topped the size of its annual economy was in 1947 just after World War II. By 1981 it had fallen to 32.5 percent.

Ratings agencies have warned the country to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio quickly or facing losing its coveted AAA debt rating.

Moody's said Tuesday that the government needed to stabilize the ratio at 73 percent by 2015 "to ensure that the long-run fiscal trajectory remains compatible with a AAA rating."

They had to recapitalize all the government worker pension funds they drained to run current accounts between May 18th and now.

[Faeelin]

Hrmm. The market isn't impressed with this deal, I guess, and a double dip recession looks certain.

I guess soon President Perry will rickroll us.

[KRonn]

Heh, they're debating about getting the budget balanced in 5 to 10 years! Then there will be the need to start  paying off a by then 15-20 trillion dollar deficit! Staggering sums of money.   

The US is a staggeringly wealthy nation, to be able to rack up such massive debt!   

Of course, inflation will be causing a sizable chunk of that debt, but you are correct to note that the total debt will come within striking range of the greatest level of total debt the US faced (WW2).  The country paid down that debt, but I don't think there will be the same will to pay down this one.  That is what staggers me.

Agreed that we won't likely have the will to pay down the debt as we did after WW2. And maybe we don't have to be  committed to paying it all down quickly. I figure the US will be, and is quite able to be, carrying some heavy debt for a while, even after, or if, the budget is balanced. But I'm hoping the debt can be brought down and made a lot more manageable. As it is now it's just damn scary.

[Razgovory]

The moment the budget is balanced, it'll be tax cut time again!  That surplus belongs to the people, not the government.

[derspiess]

The moment the budget is balanced, it'll be tax cut time again!  That surplus belongs to the people, not the government.

It will be pretty hard to ignore all the interest we're paying on outstanding debt.

[derspiess]

Hrmm. The market isn't impressed with this deal, I guess, and a double dip recession looks certain.

Hey, oil prices dropped at least.  And the dollar apparently surged today.

[frunk]

At this point I think it's more driven by concern over Italy and Spain than the US situation.

[MadImmortalMan]

Yes. Italy = dead man walking.

[Razgovory]

The moment the budget is balanced, it'll be tax cut time again!  That surplus belongs to the people, not the government.

It will be pretty hard to ignore all the interest we're paying on outstanding debt.

Why?  We had interest on the debt in 2001, we could ignore it then.  We'll ignore it again, just you watch.
l

[sbr]

Willie Sutton said he robbed banks because that is where the money is.  In the federal budget, the money is the "mandatory" spending categories, and entitlements in particular.

Agreed.  rethinking medical provisions for the dying will almost certainly be needed, IMO, along with some less drastic measures.

ZOMG DEATH PANELS!! 

[alfred russel]

Give it up for Berlusconi--for the first time in over 1500 years, he has the world terrified of what the Italian people might unleash on them.

[DGuller]

 

[grumbler]

Give it up for Berlusconi--for the first time in over 1500 years, he has the world terrified of what the Italian people might unleash on them.