Really, how bad is it that our country is in so much debt?
444615
The national debt is actually something that is undermining our national security by handing over a very large portion of our economy to foreign powers.\n\nIn international finance, everything is balanced through a very complicated system including value of exported and imported goods, value of currency, value of precious metal reserves (gold & silver), and other valued goods. When the US spends more than it makes as a nation, there are several things that could happend: 1. Other countries step in and "loan" money to the US through the purchase of Treasury Bills (T-Bills); 2. The US dollar is devalued (i.e. goes down compared to other currencies).\n\nRight now, foreign nations are purchasing T-Bills in order to loan the US the money that it spends. Basically, the T-Bill is a note that promises the purchaser that the US Government will pay back the money owed.\n\nThe problem is, when other countries have large amounts of these T-Bills, they effectivly control the US economy by the threat of dumping the t-bills onto the international market. For instance, if China decided that it really didn't want the US to supply arms to Taiwan, it could take all of its T-bills and dump them in the international market. Overnight, the US Dollar would plummet, thus raising the cost of imported goods in the US. The result is that $5 t-shirt made overseas now costs $10. Inflation would be rampant, businesses would shut down, unemployment would rocket up, and the US economy would be in tatters in a matter of weeks.
391660
No it is not true, the USA owes NINE trillion dollars to the people that buy its bonds and treasury notes(these are debts that have to be paid with interest) The USA borrows the money so it can spend it on stuff we cannot afford so they can get votes. They figure, rightly, that most voters are too stupid to know the difference.\nThey could pay for the stuff by raising the taxes, but that is not a good way to get votes.\nThey could spend less but that is not a good way to get votes.\nThis is an inherent problem with a democracy with uninformed voters.\nThe solution is not easy. We have to inform(educate) voters and potential voters(kids) and this costs money. They do not want to sepnd money to inform the voters if it means that eventually the voters will get smart and vote them all out. So they keep the kids stupid by having bad schools and distracting them with TV and games etc. (bread and circuses) this is what caused Rome to fall. Stupidity!\nThey keep the adults stupid by owning and controlling the news (FOX) and rewarding stupidity.(look at who Bush gives medals to) This has worked well so far.\nLook at the intelligence level of the present President. He is an idiot elected by morons. WE ARE ALL DOOMED. All the flag waving and guns and yellow stickers on SUVs is not going to save us.\nWE OWE THE MONEY TO FOREIGN GOVERMENTS mostly, including Red China, and also a lot of rich republicans. you pay the interest to them after they authorize the government to pay it and then take it from your pocket or add it to your own debt which you will pay by inflation.\nASK YOURSELF, who benefits from rising interest rates, rich people who lend and collect interest or poor people who borrow and pay interest. Now you have your answer. YES the govt owes this money and YOU will be paying it and your children and your grandchildren if we do not stop spending money like drunken sailors on useless wars etc. ONLY THE DFENSE CONTRACTORS( LIKE HALLIBURTON) PROFIT FROM WAR.\n\nSOON China will own us and control us and your grandchildren will be learning Mandarin in school so they can get jobs as servants in China.\n\nIT IS TIME FOR RALPH NADER TO BE PRESIDENT! Both the republicans and the democrats have failed and neither can or will ever help us. They are too greedy, stupid and corrupt to do anything but squabble with each other over the spoils.
490940
Ok so 1. Our debt is actually mostly to ourselves not other countries although some foreign investors hold U.S. government bonds and such.\n\n2. Bill Clinton did NOT erase the national debt. That is an impossible task for 1 President to do considering the debt is now something like 8 trillion dollars...I'm not sure of teh exact number. What Clinton did was erase the national deficit for a couple of years. A deficit is the debt for 1 year...the national debt is the accumulation of that. \n\nNow that that's clear...yes more money should be going to pay the national debt. But really, first, we need a balanced budget so that we can stop increasing the debt. And then whatever surplus there is should go towards paying off the national debt instead of tax cuts. not that I'm against tax cuts or anything.
726691
Neither is good or bad. You really need to get away from this shallow method of thinking.\n\nUnless you consider how the debts were incurred, what the economic and geopolitical conditions were, then you'll never have a clue as to understanding national debt.\n\nYou voted Democrat, didn't you? Obvious.
274768
Not nearly as much as the debt.
1096443
Every country is in debt. We are the richest country in the World.
503097
Both. It takes money out of our economy, and tries to 'reform' other countries instead of largely leaving them to their own devices, breeds passivity in those countries on solving problems and dependency. Our country's 8, going on 9 trillion in the hole, and if you do the math, you find that the damage that debt can do is only going to accelerate. Even if the interest on 9 trillion drops from 4% to 1%, 1% of a trillion dollars is still a truckload of money. Several truckloads, actually. As Congress stupidly signs anything put in front of em(old folks will sign ANYTHING), and the debt spins up to 13, 14, 20 trillion dollars in unpayable red ink, you're going to see the beginning of The End for this country. The shift is already on to invest in euros instead of dollars. The european countries have the debt stuff WRITTEN INTO THEIR CONSTITUTION. Maybe it's time for america to have such and amendment. Hey, Congress, sign this! LOLOL
408223
There is nothing wrong with having a national debt. That is a very common misnomer. The national debt is simply the acculation of outstanding savings bonds that are purchased, primarily by us (the American public). You go buy a bond, and the government owes you the money back. It is just a paper transfer, not a sunk cost. A surplus would only mean that these have been paid off. That isn't NECESSARILY the optimal condition.
713294
Here's the real problem:  What if our foreign creditors (Japan, China, the Arabs) dumped all their holdings in US debt issues?  Our economy would collapse!  Last year the Finance Minister of South Korea mused that it might not be a good investment (US Debt) and the dollar and the Dow both dropped that day.  Korea doesn't own as much as China.  Imagine what would happen if China actually did it.   Paying off the national debt is a matter of national security.
479948
On the other hand, having a little bit of national debt can be a good thing, because it allows the treasury to sell bonds on the debt, which is an important tool for monetary policy and allows the government to mitigate inflation.\n\nLots of debt is definitely a problem, though.  My theory on why people don't understand things like this (or act like they do) comes down to a combination of laziness, stupidity, and selfishness -- the unholy trinity of human failure.
982600
Not likely. The debt to GDP ratio is really not any worse than it has ever been.\n\nhttp://zfacts.com/p/318.html \n\nhttp://www.optimist123.com/optimist/2006/05/pie_chart_of_wh.html
862898
The debt and deficit have no peer in the problem of economic waste. There is a contant danger of increasing interest rates ballooning the payments and every dollar is a loan from other countries who could stop lending us money and squeeze our economy. The Chinese are very aware of our deficit problem, and no one wants to address the problem. They own 40 percent of our debt and they are flooding our markets with Walmart goods. They are also attempting to capture the oil markets we depend on, this is a tragedy waiting to happen. We are not supporting our education system to compete with other countries who are producing a superior work force. The engineering crisis is untenable, India is producing most of our engineers and taking American jobs. You can not compete in the global economy without a superior educational system. Economic collapse is what killed the Soviet Union and we are following their example.
945525
When  you include everything, all our debt, the number is over 50 trillion.  " A billion here and a billion there, soon you are talking about real money."  It is all a colossal shell game perpetrated on the public.  Social Security was supposed to be a fund that contributions went in to, and benefits were to be taken from the interest.  If left alone, there would be more than enough money now to draw from.  Instead, Congress adopted another criminal  practice and started, in the sixties, dumping that money in the general fund to be spent every year on their pet projects, like Vietnam.  Today is  the same with Iraq.  I imagine they call it creative bookkeeping 101.
827844
Disgusting, eh?  It goes beyond party lines though.  Democrats and Republicans both are addicted to spending. Everyone has some palms to grease.\n\nIf we could just agree on which programs to cut, our nation would be well on its way.\n\nI don't think you pay that back though.  You just keep making debt payments until the amount becomes trivial to repay.  Think:  100 year mortgage.  Also, US net worth is approx 40 Trillion.
64845
Its over 8 trillion dollars\n\nfor an up to date Debt clock go to:\n\nhttp://choufouni.com/funology/usdebtclock.html\n\nPeace
1067160
Given the situation, there's a high chance that America could fall into an economic depression. Looking at it now, it seems almost impossible to pay off the debt. I believe that America will collapse if it suffers from severe depression and attacked from numerous outside forces. But then again, America's suffered two depressions and it managed to survive, so we'll see.
158714
heres the game\nhttp://www.philipdru.com/griffin_stream.html\n'this leads to that' syndrome, ya gotta understand where the debt comes from & how its blended into the treasury (you).