Do you know what the current national debt is? It’s around $35 trillion dollars. A trillion dollars is a big number so let me give you a way to relate: if you took $35 trillion dollars in $1 bills and laid them end to end they would reach to the sun and back….eighteen times*.
You know that enormous loop around the sun that this planet makes in twelve months? Those dollar bills, end to end, would cover that orbit…almost six times.
Want more to relate to? If you took all the US currency thats out there right now it would add up to…..around $2 billion dollars. Put another way, we owe, as a nation, around 17,500 times more money than actually physically exists.
Let’s keep rolling. The US population is around 330,000,000 people. Your share of that national debt is about $106,000,
Wanna seize all the privately owned land and use it to pay the debt down? Good luck with that…that won’t even cover half the debt since all the privately held land in the US is only worth about $14.488 trillion dollars.
What does a high national debt mean? People are less likely to lend to you if youre already maxed out on your cards. Who is going to lend you money when all your available cash is going to pay back previous lenders? So..you gotta sweeten the deal…and thats where those 30% interest rates on predatory credit cards come in. Now imagine that on a national level.
So..you’ve maxed out your credit cards to the point where you owe 17,500 times more money than you have in the bank. How do you get out of this mess? Well, you can try to pay it back but you literally will not live long enough to do so even if you lived several lifetimes. You can file for bankruptcy. Or you can shrug and just keep spending knowing that it is impossible to pay off the debt so you may as well go full kamikaze and spend like there’s no tomorrow.
Whats it look like if the US did that? Well, we coulud simply refuse to pay Japan and China, our two biggest creditors, and we’d probably be in an economic cold war with them for the next forseeable future. Or, we could renegotiate the deal which just kicks the can down the road and makes it more expensive later. We could just print the money, physically or electronically, to pay it off thereby devaluing our currency.
(/:Zimbabwe has entered the chat)
(/:Weimar Republic has entered the chat)
Or, more likely, we will just pay lip service to debt reduction and continue to spend because apparently austerity measures and budget cuts just aint gonna happen. And at some point there is only going to be two choices: monetization or renunciation. Either one spells economic chaos on a global level.
On the other hand, we surpassed the level at which debt couuld be mitigated a long time ago and we are still here, still borrowing, still being loaned to, and still spending without cutting…although at this point cutting anything will have a virtually zero effect on things.
I bring this all up because I was curious about where the national debt was today and fell down a math rabbit hole. But, honestly, I’m hoping I’m simply being naive, unlearned, and grossly ignorant about economics, because everything I just wrote pretty much concerns me greatly.
For a literary treatment about a US renunciation of the debt and the apocalypse that follows, I highly recommend this book.
To the sun and back, eighteen times……geez.
* = Math: one dollar is 6.14 inches long. 35t of them is 214,900,000,000,000 inches. That is the same as 17,908,333,333,333.33 feet, or 3,391,729,797.97 miles. The distance to the sun is about 93,000,000 miles. 3,391,729,797.97 divided by 93,000,000 is 36.4. Since its a round trip we cut that in half = 18.2 times the length distance to the sun and back.
Imagine taking 30% of what everyone earns, and whenever you need more money you just start printing all you want too over and over again, and still being $35,000,000,000,000+ in debt.
If you’re paying 30% in taxes, you need a better accountant/ tax professional.
The tax code is so complicated it pays to pay someone who understands it to help you.
last year I paid 9% on a very healthy income.
Ugh. Goes down hard with morning coffee.
No surprises here. Follow that time line and extrapolate.
That boulder WILL go over that cliff, especially with all these idiots slathering grease in front of it.
I suspect that the ONLY reason China hasn’t attacked Taiwan yet is that it would give America to cancel all debt to China.
Debt can be a weapon…
If you check the numbers, China doesn’t own much of our debt – last time I checked, less than $2 billion and dropping.
Don’t confuse foreign exchange holding with debt.
Most US debt is held by US entities as a “safe” investment, often for regulatory reasons.
What I’m really curious about is how much government debt is held by the FED and other quasi government entities as a result of money printing or limited debt like Social Security.
Note to self – Proof-read BEFORE posting!
Or you look a fool…
What I meant to say was
“I suspect that the ONLY reason China hasn’t attacked Taiwan is that it would give America a plausible excuse to cancel all debt to China.
Debt can be a weapon.”
The bubble has to pop sooner or later. I’m going long on freeze dried food, water, and other ‘hard assets’. It’s all about ‘other people’s money’ and they will never stop spending it.
They cause the problem spending like there’s no tomorrow, and then we pay the price in inflation and higher interest rates. Then they blame the producers for the high prices and claim they’re gouging the consumer – making them the bad guys. Then they bring in price controls to “protect” the consumer, and bankrupt the manufacturers and producers….It’s all been done before, and it never ends well for the population. The only difference this time is that there has never been a country as rich as the U.S.A. so it’s taking a longer time, AND thanks to globalization, this is happening in virtually every country out there. Nobody wants to be the first to go under, but when they do – it’s gonna be dominoes!
How can I be responsible for any part of the National debt? I never server empowered anyone or any entity to incurring dept on my behalf.
It seems to me that a great many stupid people are spending money they don’t have and would be in jail for if they were just an average person.
Most of the Demon Crats are rich. They sell their offices to get that way. Some of the Dead Elephants are as well.
I saw just yesterday that the National Debt equals all the money in the world. And Nasty Ass Pelosi and Chuck U Schumer are mostly responsible for this idiotic bullshit.
We went by the point of no return quite sometime ago. It’s time for We the People to take away the credit cards. And ask for the keys to all the private government owned jets this losers use. I know it’s never mentioned much. But these idiots work for us. It’s time we start acting like it. After all. They are only a phone call away.
Amen!
There is another possible solution to the debt problem. Threaten to nuke the debt holders unless they cancel the debt. Sort of the “Mafia” solution – extortion. Horrible idea? Of course. And yet….
Wrong target!
Introduce the debt-causers to rope and street lights…
Ceejay
You should read the book, When Money Dies. The parallels between our economy and the Weimar Republic before and during hyper-inflation are practically identical. There is no saving us. We are beyond the tipping point.
You list China and Japan, but isn’t the Federal Reserve the biggest holder of our debt?
You are correct. I should have said largest foreign creditors.
I’m not TOO worried about our national debt. The US dollar is probably the best looking thing in the trash as currencies go. The Euro is a basket case. China and Russia as options are laughable. Maybe the Canadian dollar is better but they have major real estate issues so maybe not.
Also there is that whole thing if if you owe the bank money they own you; but if you owe the bank an insane amount of money you own them.
Heavy inflation would be bad for my IRA but it would drop the cost of my mortgage over time so there is that. Our jobs are pretty secure.
Wouldn’t mind owning a little more gold. Restocking the pantry (we moved and a lot of things needed rotating anyway) is on the list.
Lastly since I don’t control it there isn’t a point in freaking out. Do what I can to reasonably position myself well for a variety of likely outcomes and go on with my life.
Ryan:
That’s a bit like saying “Someone’s going to die before I do, so I’m healthy!
Nations and Currencies are no different to our OWN finances – When in a deep hole, STOP DIGGING!
Ceejay
The ‘National Debt’ is Nothing but the “Money” that the (((federal reserve bank))) has ‘Printed’ and ‘Loaned’ to the federal ‘government’. It is in totality, a Fraud. The Constitution provides for the government to issue Debt-Free Money, backed by Gold and Silver. It can be “Fractionally Reserved”, i.e. not every “Note” needs to be Redeemable in Metal.
The Con-gress was Bribed, and the President (Wilson) was Blackmailed, to pass and sign the Legislation that allowed the (((banks))) to “Print” money, and LOAN IT FOR INTEREST to the ‘government’. This can be Solved by the simple act of the Con-gress declaring the “Debt” to the (((bankers))) is Fraudulent, and Invalid. Then the Treasury can issue “Treasury Notes” that need not (initially at least) be Backed by Gold.
This is Proven to Work to lift a “Bankrupt” Nation out of Poverty and Debt Slavery of the (((bankers))). Look into what the National Socialist German Worker’s Party did, turned around the Nation’s Economy in less than 5 Years. Of Course, the (((bankers))) Could Not let that Stand, and so set All the Nations (((they))) controlled to War against Germany. The Destruction of Germany for defying ‘god’s chosen people'(tm) was not the only example; Iraq and Libya were also Destroyed for doing the same thing, issuing Gold-Backed NAtional Currencies that (((they))) could not collect ‘Interest’ (usury) on.
It looks like Russia, China, Iran and many other Nations are ‘setting up’ to create a Financial System, and “Money” (look up “BRICS Unit) and this group of Nations has Nothing to Fear from the (((moneychangers))). The ZOG in the FUSSA is F’kk’d, however….
The dumbest thing we ever did was to come off the Gold Standard. It was the last remaining guard rail we had. The progressives started bitching about that in the early 20th century. It restricted the government to limit the money supply to the amount if gold in Fort Knox and the Federal Banks.
In 1973 I purchased a 3/4 ton Ford Pickup. It was nothing fancy. Four on the floor. V8. Floor Matt’s. Just a work truck for using on the farm. Cost $3210. In 1979 I bout another Ford truck. It was an F150. Inline 6 cyl. Four on the floor. Floor Matt’s. Again nothing fancy. It did have 4 wheel drive. Cost $6600.00. In six years the cost had more then doubled. Less truck. More money. Kind of the trend we see now. Get less for more.
Bring back the Gold standard. That will limit the amount of money the Fed can print. Thus another control mechanism on inflation. Yes. The government does set the price of gold. But the Congress has to approve or disallow the increase in price. It was the last control we had over government spending.
Last time I looked the definition of a dollar was a set amount of gold/silver in the Constitution
Your 35 trillion ‘dollar’ national debt amount is off by a factor of 10 when you include unfunded liabilities and the 100 trillion off budget ‘black money’ they (deep state) uses to further the federal reserves agenda. Many sources have put this number closer to 500 trillion.
“Unfunded Liabilities” are not a part of the “Debt” until it comes Time to pay a part of a given ‘commitment’ like social(ist) ‘security. These ‘commitments to spend tax money’ would, of course, be ‘Paid’ by borrowing more fake, ‘printed money’ from the (((federal reserve bank))). They can be best described as “Future Debt Commitments”, but in Fact, it will never come to pass, as the Collapse of the Debt-based, (((ponzi))) Fraud is now very close, perhaps only a matter of a few Years.
After the coming, inevitable Collapse of the (((paper money scam))) it will be incumbent upon the Survivors/Rebuilders to NEVER allow any ‘paper money’ (only Metals) and deal Death to the Usurers, wherever they ‘pop up’.
I’ve been keeping an eye on the debt clock for years – the numbers are mind boggling and have become abstract at this point. I believe I read that we pay almost a trillion per year in interest on the debt now. I, too, don’t see any way out of this mess, and just hope I shuffle off this mortal coil before it all implodes. Thanks for the downer CZ ;-).
CZ Seems you missed the newest fad in economics Modern Monetary Theory also known as the I still have checks in the check book spendthrift idea. Converting a chunk of long term savings to PM had been disappointing (low valuation,especially compared to the $100 I was going to put in Bitcoin at about $.10) but last year and a half have started to turn around. The last time someone tried to get back to any sound money he took a ride in a convertible in Dallas