I think it would be good to reduce the debt just the way it is good to pay off a credit card or loan. The issue is how you do it. The most inhumane way is to keep subsidizing peanut farmers and oil companies. One opportunity would be to revise to tax code so companies like GE a Google would not have years where they pay little or no taxes rather than eliminating mortgage interest deductions and medical deductions. Making the country more productive through R&D, better and cheaper education of citizens, cheap universal medical care, and modern infrastructure would go a long way. Of course, politicians running for office never discuss these issues and the Congress and State legislatures rarely even talk about them.
""Reagan," Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2002, “proved deficits don’t matter.” Unless, that is, a Democrat is in the White House. After all, while Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, each Republican was rewarded with a second term in office. But as the Gallup polling data show, concern over the federal deficit hasn’t been this high since Democratic budget balancer Bill Clinton was in office. All of which suggest the Republicans’ born-again disdain for deficits ranks among the greatest – and most successful – political double-standards in recent memory."
I suppose when you rely on conservative media for your talking points, you come up with dumb cartoons like this. Debt is not a problem at the moment, lack of government investment definitely is. And if Republicans wanted to deal with debt, all they’d have to do is accept some tax increases. But as their actions prove time and again, debt is not actually of any importance to them at all, only keeping taxes low on the rich.
The reason so much of our debt is owned by foreign nations is because U.S. Treasuries are considered the safest and most stable equity. As long as the U.S. makes its payments on time, there is no crisis from the U.S. end. If China chooses to sell its U.S. Treasuries, it represents a crisis on the Chinese end, not on the American end. Just as an individual going through hard time sells stocks or bonds, it does not reflect badly on the company or entity that issued the stocks or bonds.As a nation, the U.S. has always been in debt since its creation. One of the the first things the Federal government under the Constitution did was assume the debt the states’ had accumulated fighting the War of Independence.
Hey, folks, don’t forget the Repub’s great ballyhoo when they formed their “Contract with America”, and they vowed (among many other things) to balance the budget. And when Clinton left office, they went right to work on that budget!
Theodore E. Lind Premium Member over 8 years ago
I think it would be good to reduce the debt just the way it is good to pay off a credit card or loan. The issue is how you do it. The most inhumane way is to keep subsidizing peanut farmers and oil companies. One opportunity would be to revise to tax code so companies like GE a Google would not have years where they pay little or no taxes rather than eliminating mortgage interest deductions and medical deductions. Making the country more productive through R&D, better and cheaper education of citizens, cheap universal medical care, and modern infrastructure would go a long way. Of course, politicians running for office never discuss these issues and the Congress and State legislatures rarely even talk about them.
superposition over 8 years ago
""Reagan," Vice President Dick Cheney famously declared in 2002, “proved deficits don’t matter.” Unless, that is, a Democrat is in the White House. After all, while Ronald Reagan tripled the national debt and George W. Bush doubled it again, each Republican was rewarded with a second term in office. But as the Gallup polling data show, concern over the federal deficit hasn’t been this high since Democratic budget balancer Bill Clinton was in office. All of which suggest the Republicans’ born-again disdain for deficits ranks among the greatest – and most successful – political double-standards in recent memory."
http://crooksandliars.com/jon-perr/reagan-proved-deficits-dont-matter
ARodney over 8 years ago
I suppose when you rely on conservative media for your talking points, you come up with dumb cartoons like this. Debt is not a problem at the moment, lack of government investment definitely is. And if Republicans wanted to deal with debt, all they’d have to do is accept some tax increases. But as their actions prove time and again, debt is not actually of any importance to them at all, only keeping taxes low on the rich.
Mordock999 Premium Member over 8 years ago
SEE??
THAT “Cartoon” Is EXACTLY Why ALL Guns SHOULD Be BANNED!
Simon_Jester over 8 years ago
And WHY did we borrow so much of our debt from China? To pay for the Bush Tax Cuts
canFunny over 8 years ago
I just hope that is an American gun, we don’t want the Chinese to take that away also.
Dtroutma over 8 years ago
Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Republican desire for Iran wars, not China.
BE THIS GUY over 8 years ago
The reason so much of our debt is owned by foreign nations is because U.S. Treasuries are considered the safest and most stable equity. As long as the U.S. makes its payments on time, there is no crisis from the U.S. end. If China chooses to sell its U.S. Treasuries, it represents a crisis on the Chinese end, not on the American end. Just as an individual going through hard time sells stocks or bonds, it does not reflect badly on the company or entity that issued the stocks or bonds.As a nation, the U.S. has always been in debt since its creation. One of the the first things the Federal government under the Constitution did was assume the debt the states’ had accumulated fighting the War of Independence.
Dtroutma over 8 years ago
BTW: the vast majority of U.S. debt is owed to AMERICAN corporations and individuals.
PainterArt Premium Member over 8 years ago
The Chinese that own US debt are probably very happy to do so because they could be owning Chinese.
moosemin over 8 years ago
Hey, folks, don’t forget the Repub’s great ballyhoo when they formed their “Contract with America”, and they vowed (among many other things) to balance the budget. And when Clinton left office, they went right to work on that budget!