U.S. Debt Actually $200 Trillion?

Quote from Ed Breen:

Ach,...in the quote above I meant to say increased revenue and reduced spending...I don't for a minutet thing we can afford to increase spending...or even maintain the current level of spending.

With regard to parsing out a proper scientific tax policy designed to maximize revenues realized in a sustainable way....I am not doing that here on these pages...not taking the time...its an invitation for others to think about it...I think there were relevant papers written on 'scientifc taxation' during the 1920's...its not like this stuff isn't well known.

Well, I'm all ears. AFAIK, the income tax is regressive and wealth destructive. If a more stimulative policy exists, I'd certainly be open to it. Of course, it would require a total overhaul of the draconian US tax code Government is loathe to do away with. Since we're on the topic of wealth maximization, why not enact tariffs against Chindia to protect existing incomes? That's a worthwhile endeavor to, is it not?
 
A small non distortive excise tax on all imports (something like 3% to 5%) would be an efficient tax that would not hurt long term growth so long as the tax was non discriminitive and all mercantile tariffs were repealed and reduced to the non discriminating low blanket number. Such a tax would not likely distort the economy as it would be absorbed into the general price structure and it could be collected once as part of delivery of the import. I would not have a problem with a modest tariff structured as an excise tax.

Mercantile tariffs targeted agains sector goods or trading partners do reduce growth and should be avoided as they destroy more revenue than they produce.
 
Quote from achilles28:

There's no way America can "grow" itself out of it's debt.

Do the math. In order to keep pace with the deficit, GDP would have to expand by >10%, YOY.

What growth industries America had was exported to Chindia.
Even if Washington were to pay off $1 BILLION per day, it would still take about 366 years before they’re paid off.

The U.S. Federal deficit at $1.6 trillion

The officially recognized national debt at $12.1 trillion

$3.5 trillion owed to foreign investors

Unfunded national obligations of $106.5 trillion

Another $9 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next 10 years

At least another trillion dollars needed for health care reform!

Grand total: $133.7 TRILLION IN DEBT!

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article15977.html
 
Quote from bearice:

Even if Washington were to pay off $1 BILLION per day, it would still take about 366 years before they’re paid off.

The U.S. Federal deficit at $1.6 trillion

The officially recognized national debt at $12.1 trillion

$3.5 trillion owed to foreign investors

Unfunded national obligations of $106.5 trillion

Another $9 trillion in cumulative deficits over the next 10 years

At least another trillion dollars needed for health care reform!

Grand total: $133.7 TRILLION IN DEBT!

http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article15977.html

America will never pay it off, the govt will either default or simply murder the debt owner.
 
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=202271

Quote from bearice:

THE actual figure of the US' national debt is much higher than the official sum of $US13.4 trillion ($14.3 trillion) given by the Congressional Budget Office, according to analysts cited on Sunday by the New York Post.

"The Government is lying about the amount of debt. It is engaging in Enron accounting," said Laurence Kotlikoff, an economist at Boston University and co-author of The Coming Generational Storm: What You Need to Know about America's Economic Future.

Mr Kotlikoff says the debt is actually $US200 trillion.

Mr Moylan says the number is likely about $US60 trillion.

Read complete article-:

http://www.blacklistednews.com/?news_id=10626
 
Quote from Humpy:

This debt is Bush's legacy

The moral of this sorry story must be don't elect monkeys to do a man's job

Wrong. Bush was bad; Obama is worse by a long shot. He's added more to the debt in under 2 years than any other president. Of course, he's never run a business, never had to make payroll and couldn't run a lemon-ade stand.

But he's happy to have his innumerate supporters join him in blameshifting all his problems away.
 
I know nobody can be objective about politics but

i) We don't know what would have happened to the economy during the 2001 recession/post 9/11 downturn if Bush hadn't passed the tax cuts.
ii) At the time Bush didn't know he was going to be in the middle of two Wars for the next 10+ years (although some people will say he choose at least one of those wars)
So as much as we want to blame Bush its difficult to know how much he is truely to blame.

iii) It's difficult to assess Obama's effectiveness already. It's impossible to know how many of todays problems are a Bush legacy and how succesful or unsuccesful Obama's policies will be in the next several years.
So as much as we want to blame Obama its also difficult to know how much he is truely to blame.
 
Quote from MKTrader:

Wrong. Bush was bad; Obama is worse by a long shot. He's added more to the debt in under 2 years than any other president. Of course, he's never run a business, never had to make payroll and couldn't run a lemon-ade stand.

But he's happy to have his innumerate supporters join him in blameshifting all his problems away.
Good post.
 
U.S. Dollar Is `One Step Nearer' to Crisis as Debt Level Climbs, Yu Says

The U.S. dollar is “one step nearer” to a crisis as debt levels in the world’s largest economy increase, said Yu Yongding, a former adviser to China’s central bank.

Any appreciation of the dollar is “really temporary” and a devaluation of the currency is inevitable as U.S. debt rises, Yu said in a speech in Singapore today.

“Such a huge amount of debt is terrible,” Yu said. “The situation will be worsening day by day. I think we are one step nearer to a U.S.-dollar crisis.”

Yu also said China is worried about the safety of its foreign-exchange reserves including those invested in U.S. Treasuries as the U.S. currency weakens, reiterating his earlier views on the dollar assets. The U.S. will record a $1.3 trillion budget deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, the Congressional Budget Office said Aug. 19.

Complete article-:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...to-crisis-chinese-former-adviser-yu-says.html
 
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