Eight trillion, two hundred and three billion, two hundred eighty five million, two hundred seventy three thousand, three hundred and seven dollars and fifteen cents was the national debt at 10:52 PM GMT 3 February, 2006. At 11:21 PM GMT 3 February, 2006, the national debt was eight trillion, two hundred and three billion, three hundred twenty seven million, six hundred fifty thousand, fifty five dollars and thirty cents. In half an hour the national debt went up over twenty million dollars.1
With a debt that size, one might assume that the government would reign in their spending. But anonymous senior defense officials released early the news that President Bush intends to seek a nearly 5 percent increase for the Defense Department—an expenditure totaling $439.3 billion. However, this total does not include the $50 billion that the Bush administration stated on Thursday, February 2 that was said to be needed as down payment for the Iraqi and Afghani wars in 2007. This doesn’t even include the estimated war costs for 2006 of $120 million.2
Compare the current national debt to what it was in 1906—two billion,three hundred thirty seven million, one hundred sixty one thousand, eight hundred thirty nine dollars and four cents. If we were to take into account the inflation that has occured in the past 100 years, the national debt today is significantly higher than it was a hundred years ago. Without counting in inflation though, it has gone up eight hundred seventeen billion, nine hundred ninety five million, five hundred eighty eight thousand, two hundred sixteen dollars and twenty six cents—a rate of approximately eight billion, one hundred seventy nine million, nine hundred fifty five thousand, eight hundred eighty two dollars and sixteen cents per year.
This huge rise in the national debt is not only detrimental to the current generation, but will bear a huge impact on future ones as well. Assuming the debt rises steadily at the average from the past hundred years, twenty years from now the debt would total almost eight and a half trillion dollars—an amount that our children would be having to help pay for.
And if the Government is in debt this deeply, than where do they find the money for spending on their various programs, salaries, and wars? If the Government can’t supply the money, it leaves one option…the People.
1 The current national debt can be seen at http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
2 http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=1575190
Unfortunately, I don’t have a trillion dollars on me right now; maybe I’ll send you an e-mail when I do, and you can put it to use. :)
I think the government is just doing way more than what its main job requires—to protect the people. If it concentrated on this and cut down on the other things it was doing, the debt wouldn’t have to be so gigantic, and the taxes of the people would probably cover a lot more.