USA national debt

Similar with us in the UK, if there's always been a debt to reduce it would make whoever is in charge at the least very unpopular with heavy cuts and in any case once they leave power it's someone else's issue.

That being said building a big wall won't come cheap, maybe a 10 foot in diameter one with no door & Trump inside would be an idea though.
 
The reason the US can run such a high debt as a proportion of GDP is because the US dollar is the global reserve currency, and therefore in extremely high demand. Other countries couldn't run it at that level, they would have to get it down. France is more or less in that position currently.

It's not inherently bad. You can finance long term bonds more cheaply than anything else, countries can quite literally make money on them as inflation erodes the cost of the debt. It is to a fair extent free money, which is why just looking at the total can be a bit misleading. To take a simplistic example, if someone loans you £500 at 20% interest over one month (Greece = Wonga) that's far more expensive than someone loaning you £10,000 at 0.5% interest over 50 years (the USA, or indeed the UK). The latter you'll grab because you're going to make a profit on it.

That's essentially why the UK took two and a half centuries to pay off some of the South Sea Bubble debt, and 60 years to pay off the US loans from WWII debt - it made no financial sense to clear them off when they were so cheap and so low.
 
worsleyweb said:
Is apparently at 22 trillion?

Can someone explain to me?

Who do they owe it too?
Will they ever pay it back?
Is it a worry?
Is capitalism just a game of printing money?

And can a mod please move to off topic?
Click to expand...



If you have nearly 4 hours to spare, this will explain all...
 
SkyBlueTX said:
“The United States government has continuously had a fluctuating public debt since its formation in 1789, except for about a year during 1835–1836, a period in which the nation, during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, completely paid the national debt.”

There’s your answer on whether it will ever be paid.

Two centuries of relentlessly spending more than the take from taxes, necessitating more borrowing. This is regardless of the political party in control of Congress or the Presidency. No fiscal discipline because it’s OPM to them.
Click to expand...
Andrew Jackson didn't really understand the best use of public money so.
 
aguero93:20 said:
Andrew Jackson didn't really understand the best use of public money so.
Click to expand...
I don't know, after his inauguration he invited a large group of his friends to the White House and went on a twenty day bender. Before being elected he owned a brothel in Nashville. I'd suspect some of his former employees were likely invited to his party. There's worse ways to spend money. :)
 
better dead than red said:
I don't know, after his inauguration he invited a large group of his friends to the White House and went on a twenty day bender. Before being elected he owned a brothel in Nashville. I'd suspect some of his former employees were likely invited to his party. There's worse ways to spend money. :)
Click to expand...

Is Bill Clinton a descendant?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Unread Posts

Don't have an account? Register now and see fewer ads!

SIGN UP
Back
Top
✖
  AdBlock Detected
Bluemoon relies on advertising to pay our hosting fees. Please support the site by disabling your ad blocking software to help keep the forum sustainable. Thanks.