I wrote the following in a rush of frustration on Tuesday evening. Little did I know how behind the times it would actually be. The new debt limit, increased by $400 billion, was intended to take us through December. But on Tuesday, the Treasury Department used up 60% of that amount on the very same day the new debt limit that was signed into law (Source:
Washington Times, 8/03/2011). That means the US borrowed $239 billion in a matter of hours (nearly $1,000 for every man woman and child in the country on top of the current $46+ thousand--more on that below). That number also reaches another milestone: The US now officially owes more money than its annual GDP (Source:
AFP via YahooNews, 8/03/2011). Add to that the debt downgrade by S&P this past Friday (Source:
Standard & Poor's, 8/05/2011) and the possibility of a downgrade by Moody's (Source:
The Hill, 8/08/2011). Where does it end?
*******************************
Written 8/02/2011
For all the talk in Washington and the media, here is the reality that our newest law does not even begin to address:
--> Total US Population: 311,901,458 (Source:
US Census Bureau, @ 2:19 PM CST, 8/02/2011)
--> Total US Debt: $14,342,358,440,969.10 (yes,
trillion) (Source:
US Treasury Direct, 08/01/2011)
--> US Debt per US Resident: $46,697.97 (Source: freakishly scary basic math)
That means RIGHT NOW:
...
YOU owe
$46,697.97
...Your
SPOUSE owes
$46,697.97
...Every
CHILD owes
$46,697.97
...Every
GRANDCHILD owes
$46,697.97
CONGRATULATIONS! You and every man, woman, and child residing in these United States could have purchased a 2011 Porsche Boxter Convertible, but instead you are now the proud owner of a nearly equivalent chunk of national debt! Enjoy!
But all that is OLD news. If all goes "right," the brand spankin'est new law in the land (
S.365) will raise the debt limit 2,400,000,000,000 (
trillions, again) by the end of 2012. (Source:
MSNBC, 8/02/2011)
--> Potential US Debt increase per person: $7694.73
--> Grand Total Debt Per Person (potentially yours, Christmas 2012): $54,392.70
HURRAH!!!
"But," you on-the-ball-types say, "Does the bill just passed demand any cuts in the budget, so we don't HAVE to borrow more?"
Why yes! $1.5 trillion worth of cuts over 10 years!
"But," you astute-mathematician-types say, "Isn't that a lot less than the amount we are raising the limit? Doesn't that only work out to 150 billion each year? Wouldn't that mean by the end of next year, we could LEGALY add 2.4 trillion to our debt but only cut 300 billion in the same time?"
Why yes again! Isn't getting out of debt wonderful!
"But," you really-astute-mathematician-types say, "Wouldn't that just INCREASE our debt? How can it possibly get us out of debt to borrow 87.5% more than we cut?"
Why yes once more! But now, with this shiny new law in place, it is projected US debt will decrease from $24 trillion to a mere $22 trillion by 2021 (Source: CBS, 8/01/2011)!
"But," you annoyingly-astute-mathematician-types say, "How is $22 trillion a DECREASE? If we owe 14.3 trillion now, doesn't that mean, even with this deal, we are still projected to add roughly 7.7 trillion over the next decade? If we maintain the 2011 estimated population growth rate of 0.963% (Source:
CIA World Fact Book, accessed 8/02/2011), won't we have a population around 343,273,178 by then? And wouldn't that mean every man woman and child is projected to owe $64,088.89?"
Why yes yet another time! But we won't ever let it get that high!
"But," you increasingly-threatening-sounding-and-disturbingly-numbers-driven-types say,"Didn't debt more than double in the last 10 years--from $5,674,178,209,886.86 in September of 2000 to $13,561,623,030,891.79 in September 2010 (Source:
US Treasury Direct, 09/30/2010)? If this new law doesn't fix the problem in any serious way, won't it just keep going up?"
Why yes once another time more! But don't worry--the "rich" will pay for it!
"But," you increasingly-frightening-and-mercilessly-facts-oriented-types say, "Didn't the latest Census data conclude that per capita income in the US was $26,862 in 2009 (Source:
US Census Bureau, 9/2010)?"
Why yes yet again for another time more! But "median" income doesn't matter, since we will only take it from the "rich!"
"But," you increasingly-terroristic-and-racist-sounding-types say, "Using those numbers, even if we took every penny of the income from EVERYBODY who earned any in the US, wouldn't that only be a little over $8 trillion dollars? Doesn't that come out to only 58% of what we owe?
Why yes one more time again than the last time! We should probably take some of the "rich's" assets too!
"But," you dangerously-treasonous-and-Tea-Party-esque-types say,"Doesn't the combined net worth of all the billionaires in the US only total 1.53 trillion dollars (Source:
Forbes, 3/2011)? And wasn't the deficit this past year alone $1,651,794,027,380.04 (
trillion) (Source:
US Treasury, 09/30/2010)? Doesn't that mean that if you seized the ENTIRE net worth of ALL 412 of them, you would still be more than 120 BILLION dollars short of paying for LAST YEAR?
Why yes to the nth power! Looks like we'll have to take some from those nasty corporations and other "not-as-rich" types too.
"But," you clearly-parent-and-child-hating-and-probably-murdering-types say, "Wasn't the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the US 14.66 trillion in 2010 (Source:
CIA World Fact Book, accessed 8/02/2011)? So even if we took everything that everyone and every company in the US made and every service they offered--every cow and calf and chicken, every ear of wheat or corn or grain of rice, every car and truck and tractor, every shoe and shoelace and can of shoe polish, every pen and pencil and ream of paper and notebook and crayon and eraser, every book and movie and magazine and newspaper, every computer and phone and television, every foot of lumber and nail and shingle, every steak and potato and bottle of water and canned drink and sandwich and salad and package of crackers, every auto and home and business and sign and clock and doll repairman's repairs, every musician's and deliveryman's and waiter's and tip, every hour of effort of every fireman and policeman and teacher, every hour of every lawyer's advice and doctor's treatment and nurse's care and computer technician phone call and lawn mower's cutting and shoe shiner's shining, every trip to every ski resort and theme park and hotel and movie and dollar menu restaurant,
every single thing made and every service paid for in these United States for the entire year--even if we took all that away from everybody, we would NOT be able to cover our new potential debt (14.7
trillion as of 8/02/2011) and would only be able to barely cover our current debt (14.3
trillion as of 8/01/2011)?"
Why, yes to infinity! Why not, if it would solve the problem?
"But," you swastika-loving-Nazi-worshiping-types say, "How would it solve the problem? What would prevent the government from putting us right back into debt again? And what will be left for us or for our children?"
Why, you really are selfish terrorists after all, aren't you?
So remember folks, the next time you look into the eyes of your child or grandchild, or even into your own eyes in the mirror, repeat the following:
"Anybody who says we can't keep spending money like a junkie on a bender or talks about cutting spending, is just a racist, hate-mongering, hostage-taking, terrorist, Tea Partying, Nazi, 'rich' person who deserves to have their wealth and property 'redistributed.' Anything less would be irrational and inhumane."
*******************************
I have used sarcasm liberally, especially in the last section, but the point I am trying to make is deadly serious. To get a small sense of the proportions, visit
USDebtClock.org and watch the numbers fly. Especially note the projected astronomic cost of our "Unfunded Liabilities"--things we have agreed to pay but have not provided funding for--Social Security, Medicare, & Medicare Part D (Prescription Drugs).
I pray that I have misunderstood the vile, political rhetoric spewing out of Washington. But if history, especially current history, is any guide, I have not. How will we deal with this issue? No option available to us will be without pain. But the worst of all options, in my humble opinion, is the one which our leaders have chosen: to stare into the abyss and blink and chart a course that simply takes us further in. May those with the courage to say, "ENOUGH!" win the day in the end.
This debate will continue through this year as the Joint Select Committee created by S.365 (Source:
MSNBC, 8/02/2011) hammers out debt deals in order to attempt to raise the debt limit another 500 billion. If we do not make our voices heard in this process, I submit that the status quo will continue unabated--in other words, nothing will change. If we make our voices heard, the responsibility then lies in the hands of others. If we do not make our voices heard, who then bears the blame?
I encourage you to send this email to any and all who should be aware of the situation their country faces.
You can find and contact your Representative in the top right corner of
House.gov.
You can find and contact your Senator in the top right corner of
Senate.gov.
You can contact the President at
WhiteHouse.gov.
Until each of us believes and embraces the ancient wisdom of Proverbs 22:7--The rich ruleth over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender
--our country will sink further into the mire of debt, ultimately destroying itself and its freedoms thereby. Until no one among us is willing to reach into another man's pocket--whether the pocket of a parent, or a child, or a grandchild, or whoever happens to have more--in order to pay for our own way of life, we will never strike at the root cause of our debt. Only when every man is willing to live within his means rather than by the means of others, we will ever truly be free.
May we determine and summon within ourselves the strength to think, to act, to stand, and to live as men who are truly free.