Is anyone else terrified by our country's debt?

[Ice]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget,_2007


Total Receipts

Estimated receipts for fiscal year 2007 are $2.4 trillion. This expected income is broken down by the following sources:

* $1.1 trillion (+12.1%) - Individual income tax
* $884.1 billion (+7.4%) - Social Security and other payroll taxes
* $260.6 billion (+15.5%) - Corporate income tax
* $74.6 billion (-1.3%) - Excise taxes
* $28.1 billion (+0.7%) - Customs duties
* $23.7 billion (-9.2%) - Estate and gift taxes
* $48.4 billion (+14.0%) - Other

[edit] Total Spending
Graphical representation of the Total Spending for the 2007 United States Federal Budget. Social Security, Medicare and Defense together take up over half the total Federal expenditures.
Graphical representation of the Total Spending for the 2007 United States Federal Budget. Social Security, Medicare and Defense together take up over half the total Federal expenditures.

The President's budget for 2007 totals $2.8 trillion. This budget request is broken down by the following expenditures:

* $586.1 billion (+7.0%) - Social Security
* $466.0 billion (+4.0%) - Defense
* $394.5 billion (+12.4%) - Medicare
* $367.0 billion (+2.0%) - Unemployment and welfare
* $276.4 billion (+2.9%) - Medicaid and other health related
* $243.7 billion (+13.4%) - Interest on debt
* $89.9 billion (+1.3%) - Education and training
* $76.9 billion (+8.1%) - Transportation
* $72.6 billion (+5.8%) - Veterans' benefits
* $43.5 billion (+9.2%) - Administration of justice
* $33.1 billion (+5.7%) - Natural resources and environment
* $32.5 billion (-15.4%) - Foreign affairs
* $27.0 billion (+3.7%) - Agriculture
* $26.8 billion (+28.7%) - Community and regional development
* $25.0 billion (+4.0%) - Science and technology
* $20.1 billion (+11.4%) - General government
* $1.1 billion (-47.6%) - Energy

[edit] 2007 Deficit Estimate

(The amount that government spending exceeds total receipts)

* $400 billion


We pulled in 2.4 trillion dollars, why spend 2.8? At the very best, can we at least only spend what we have? Better yet I'm sure we can cut some expenses even more to start paying off the debt.

Trillion Dollar wars don't really help though, do they?

[Bijo]

Well, there's always the Federal Reserve that can make money at any moment as it sees fit, if I'm not mistaken. So don't worry too much about it :P


Anyway, the debt will always be there. The day that America has no debt, is the day that America stops waging war :laugh4: Or something like that :P

[Fragony]

Anyway, the debt will always be there. The day that America has no debt, is the day that America stops waging war :laugh4: Or something like that :P

The day America will stop having debt is the day that it will stop being the economical playground of the world. They better keep it, we need them :beam:

[Strike For The South]

Someone needs to piss off Germany. It worked so well the last two times

[Evil_Maniac From Mars]

Someone needs to piss off Germany. It worked so well the last two times
But first you need the Brits, French, and Russians to do all the actual dirty work, with an Italian side-switch thrown in here and there.

~;)

[ajaxfetish]

It looks like you're actually referring to the budget deficit rather than the national debt. The debt, which has become more and more incomprehensible to me with every additional thing I've learned about it, does not worry me. Mostly because my mind has become numb. The deficit, on the other hand, is very concerning to me. One of my foundational principles in personal finances is never to allow expenses to exceed income. If income is low, standard of living needs to follow suit. The willingness of our nation to completely ignore this novel idea drives me insane.

Ajax

[Papewaio]

But then there is debt and good and bad versions of it.

Just need to make sure the economy can cover the interest on the debt.

And with good debt that is much easier over the long term.

[Ice]

It looks like you're actually referring to the budget deficit rather than the national debt. The debt, which has become more and more incomprehensible to me with every additional thing I've learned about it, does not worry me. Mostly because my mind has become numb. The deficit, on the other hand, is very concerning to me. One of my foundational principles in personal finances is never to allow expenses to exceed income. If income is low, standard of living needs to follow suit. The willingness of our nation to completely ignore this novel idea drives me insane.

Ajax

No, I'm talking about the debt. The debt grows larger each year due to our budget deceits.

[Xiahou]

Terrified? Nah. Definitely concerned about the out of control growth of Social Security/Medicare though.

[Tribesman]

Terrified? Nah. Definitely concerned about the out of control growth of Social Security/Medicare though.
:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:
You are throwing away more money on a complete waste in an out of control Iraq than you threw away in Vietnam for absolutely no benefit yet you are concerned about welfare .:dizzy2:

[AntiochusIII]

You are throwing away more money on a complete waste in an out of control Iraq than you threw away in Vietnam for absolutely no benefit yet you are concerned about welfareWell, the thing is costly. I think I benefited from it, though; or may be not. It's all so confusing.

I'm not particularly scared. There's always Canada to run to if it all comes apart. Also, the Government really needs to stop putting its dirty finger into the Social Security fund. God-damn-it, Bush! That money is not for Iraq!

[Xiahou]

:laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4: :laugh4:
You are throwing away more money on a complete waste in an out of control Iraq than you threw away in Vietnam for absolutely no benefit yet you are concerned about welfare .:dizzy2:Can we institute some sort of cap on the number of laughing smilies per post? :rolleyes:

Entitlement spending is far more than what's being spent in Iraq. The war in Iraq will end - one way or the other - eventually. Entitlement programs continue year after year after year and grow at an exponential rate and are a far bigger financial commitment.

[Watchman]

Yeah, well, the difference being also that as far as state finances go wars are purebred black holes that mainly produce dead people and cripples, whereas social programs are investements in the society and its inhabitants.

I presume you can tell the distinction ?

'Course, by all accounts yours suck and probably don't quite fulfill their purpose. But I didn't elect the guys who made them that way. :balloon2:

[Tribesman]

Can we institute some sort of cap on the number of laughing smilies per post?
An easy way to get that done , try not writing stuff that is so laughable .


Yeah, well, the difference being also that as far as state finances go wars are purebred black holes that mainly produce dead people and cripples, whereas social programs are investements in the society and its inhabitants.

I presume you can tell the distinction ?

I think you presume too much there Watchman .

[PanzerJaeger]

I wish I could get away with the personal attacks and US bashing you boys do on a daily basis... well, actually I dont. :yes:

[Lemur]

Entitlement spending is far more than what's being spent in Iraq. The war in Iraq will end - one way or the other - eventually. Entitlement programs continue year after year after year and grow at an exponential rate and are a far bigger financial commitment.
I'm in total agreement that entitlement programs need to be scrutinized and, where practical, cut. But don't sell us short on the long-term costs of the Iraq war. As everyone knows, because of advances in body armor and battlefield medicine, people are surviving wounds that would have been fatal ten years ago. That means that for our 3k dead, we've got at at least 23k wounded (http://icasualties.org/oif_a/CasualtyTrends.htm), although there seems to be some controversy about the real number (when isn't there?).

I've read some eye-popping numbers for what the long-term costs of their care will be, but tonight my Google-fu is weak, and I'm not finding the source. Later, perhaps.

[Xiahou]

I'm in total agreement that entitlement programs need to be scrutinized and, where practical, cut. But don't sell us short on the long-term costs of the Iraq war. As everyone knows, because of advances in body armor and battlefield medicine, people are surviving wounds that would have been fatal ten years ago. That means that for our 3k dead, we've got at at least 23k wounded (http://icasualties.org/oif_a/CasualtyTrends.htm), although there seems to be some controversy about the real number (when isn't there?).

I've read some eye-popping numbers for what the long-term costs of their care will be, but tonight my Google-fu is weak, and I'm not finding the source. Later, perhaps.
Frankly, even if it was 100k their care wouldn't be a shadow what the costs of Social Security and Medicare are going to be 30yrs from now.


Medicare and Social Security will require growing amounts of federal income tax revenue. Today, 6.9 percent of federal income taxes go towards the two programs. Dr. Thomas Saving of Texas A & M University, a public trustee of the Medicare and Social Security trust funds, estimates that, in 2020, 26.6 percent of all federal income taxes will go to paying for Medicare and Social Security. By 2030, that number will increase to 49.7 percent.link (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Budget/wm1054.cfm)

[Watchman]

I wish I could get away with the personal attacks and US bashing you boys do on a daily basis... well, actually I dont. :yes:Join the club. All the cool kids are in it - we're so cool, we can pull it off. :hippy: