Thoughts From DJ: " Government Debt" 6-5-2023
DJ: DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know the last time the U. S. was debt free was January 1835? Talk about mismanagement. It just goes to show you what a bunch of idiots run this country. How hard is it?
To put it in context, think of it this way, if you bring home $4000 a month but your bills are $6000 a month, what would you do? You either get another job and make more money or you cut your bills to match what you make. That’s what everyone in the public has to do.
So why is our government not subject to the same common sense standard? Spend what you have just like the rest of us.
When the government spends more than it earns, it has a budget deficit and must issue debt in the form of Treasury securities. We have run a deficit for the last 20 years . In the last congress, (117th Congress 2nd half) the U.S. had total revenue of $4. 896 trillion with total expenditures of $6.272 trillion creating a deficit of $1.375 trillion, that got added to all the other deficits, bringing us to a total $31.4 trillion today.
In the U.S. budget 2/3 of the budget go to entitlements. ( Basically Social Security and various health care programs).
Here’s the problem. Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare are taken out of everyone’s checks. It’s not their money, you paid into it for decades. It’s your money. It would be the same as having your employer take X amount of money out of your check for your retirement fund and then saying they’re doing you a favor by giving it to you. What?
Even worse, they then go in and borrow “your money” without asking. Then just pay you back the interest on the loan but not the principal they borrowed. The same way you pay the “vig” to a loan shark.
You have to realize that 2/3 of the U.S debt is owed to itself. How stupid is that?
Some agencies, like the Social Security Trust Fund, take in more revenue than they need.( since 1986) These agencies then invest in U.S. Treasury’s rather than stick this cash under a giant mattress. This transfers the agencies’ excess revenue to the general fund, where it’s spent.
They then redeem their Treasury notes for funds as needed. The federal government then has to raise taxes or issue more debt (devaluing previously issued Treasury notes) to raise the required cash. (Ask the Silicon Valley Bank how that worked out.
The U.S. revenue comes from what amounts to 3 sources. Social Security, Medicaid – Medicare (taken out of your check) and the General Fund. The general fund is derived from sales taxes, property taxes, franchise fees, business license fees, unrestricted revenues from the state, fines, forfeitures and interest income.
41 of the 50 states in the U.S. run a balanced budget and the bulk of those states run a surplus. Some states like South Dakota run a surplus and don’t charge a state individual or corporate income tax and have a combined sales tax of only 6.5%.
The point is, if the states can run a balanced budget and create surpluses for a rainy day fund, why can’t the Federal government?
Not to be political but the current administration just came on the news bragging and waving their flag about how they averted an economic crisis (that they created) when the real question is “how did we get to that point to begin with “? It goes back to constantly keeping the public confused and creating these cycles of fear then showing up and waving the flag as the hero for solving problems they engineered.
“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we fear less” —Marie Curie
DJ