Is the National Debt Really Too Big?

[Sallow]

Which basically comes down to this:

Our Debt Is Getting More Affordable

The affordability of our national debt is an issue that gets little attention. Fortunately, the Federal Reserve of St. Louis keeps track of how well the economy is handling our debt. It does so in the form of a chart that measures the percent of GDP devoted to paying interest on the nation’s debt. What that chart says is illuminating. According to the Fed, the percent of our nation’s GDP devoted to paying interest on the debt has fallen to its lowest level since 1973.

Presently, we spend roughly 1.4 percent of GDP to pay the interest on what the Federal government has borrowed. Since 1940, the largest share of GDP devoted to pay the interest on our debt was in 1990, when the U.S. spent roughly 3.25 percent of GDP on interest payments.

The share of GDP going to pay interest on the debt began falling in 1994. And, with the exception of the period of the Great Recession, has continued falling ever since. My guess is that if America’s credit rating was measured the same way consumers are measured when they finance the purchase of a car, we would get the car.

Of course, interest payments on our debt fell sharply because interest rates came down as a result of actions by the Federal Reserve to overcome the recession. But that’s not the only reason. The long-term reason our debt became more affordable is that the country has been growing steadily since the mid-1990s, except for the period immediately following the financial crisis. These two factors – growth and lower interest rates -- pushed down the country’s interest payments, as a percent of GDP, to levels not seen since Gerald Ford was in the White House.
Is the National Debt Really Too Big? | The Exchange - Yahoo! Finance

In other words..the debt is manageable and can be shrunk without doing crazy, economy killing cuts.

Clinton proved it.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

 

[Sallow]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

 

[Stephanie]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

Your dear leader ALREADY got the taxes raised he wanted, You know on those damn evil rich., now who do you want to raise more taxes on? we are already taxed ENOUGH
he can cut out a lot of friggen government agencies that are USELESS, and they can go on his Unempoyment numbers that have been 8% his whole first term...

 

[Sallow]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

Your dear leader ALREADY got the taxes raised he wanted, You know on those damn evil rich., now who do you want to raise more taxes on? we are already taxed ENOUGH
he can cut out a lot of friggen government agencies that are USELESS, and they can go on his Unempoyment numbers that have been 8% his whole first term...

Except he didn't raise taxes.

 

[TNHarley]

My medicare went up..

 

[Sallow]

My medicare went up..

How long have you been on it?

 

[TNHarley]

My medicare tax, ass. lol

 

[Procrustes Stretched]

Which basically comes down to this:

Our Debt Is Getting More Affordable

The affordability of our national debt is an issue that gets little attention. Fortunately, the Federal Reserve of St. Louis keeps track of how well the economy is handling our debt. It does so in the form of a chart that measures the percent of GDP devoted to paying interest on the nation’s debt. What that chart says is illuminating. According to the Fed, the percent of our nation’s GDP devoted to paying interest on the debt has fallen to its lowest level since 1973.

Presently, we spend roughly 1.4 percent of GDP to pay the interest on what the Federal government has borrowed. Since 1940, the largest share of GDP devoted to pay the interest on our debt was in 1990, when the U.S. spent roughly 3.25 percent of GDP on interest payments.

The share of GDP going to pay interest on the debt began falling in 1994. And, with the exception of the period of the Great Recession, has continued falling ever since. My guess is that if America’s credit rating was measured the same way consumers are measured when they finance the purchase of a car, we would get the car.

Of course, interest payments on our debt fell sharply because interest rates came down as a result of actions by the Federal Reserve to overcome the recession. But that’s not the only reason. The long-term reason our debt became more affordable is that the country has been growing steadily since the mid-1990s, except for the period immediately following the financial crisis. These two factors – growth and lower interest rates -- pushed down the country’s interest payments, as a percent of GDP, to levels not seen since Gerald Ford was in the White House.
Is the National Debt Really Too Big? | The Exchange - Yahoo! Finance

In other words..the debt is manageable and can be shrunk without doing crazy, economy killing cuts.

Clinton proved it.

Is the National Debt Really Too Big?

No

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

On the middle class.

 

[Sallow]

My medicare tax, ass. lol

How long you been paying it?

 

[Sallow]

Clinton cut spending, or did you forget that?

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

On the middle class.

He raised them across the board.

Unlike Reagan..who cut them for the rich..then really socked it to the middle class.

 

[TNHarley]

I started paying taxes when I was 14, I am now 27

 

[Quantum Windbag]

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

Your dear leader ALREADY got the taxes raised he wanted, You know on those damn evil rich., now who do you want to raise more taxes on? we are already taxed ENOUGH
he can cut out a lot of friggen government agencies that are USELESS, and they can go on his Unempoyment numbers that have been 8% his whole first term...

Except he didn't raise taxes.

Except that 16 days after he took office he signed a tax hike.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

And raised taxes.

Did you forget that?

On the middle class.

He raised them across the board.

Unlike Reagan..who cut them for the rich..then really socked it to the middle class.

He raised them on the middle class because the only way to get more money for the government is to raise taxes on the middle class.

 

[Sallow]

I started paying taxes when I was 14, I am now 27

Well..if you'd been paying attention..they've been going up for most of the time you've been working.

 

[Sallow]

Your dear leader ALREADY got the taxes raised he wanted, You know on those damn evil rich., now who do you want to raise more taxes on? we are already taxed ENOUGH
he can cut out a lot of friggen government agencies that are USELESS, and they can go on his Unempoyment numbers that have been 8% his whole first term...

Except he didn't raise taxes.

Except that 16 days after he took office he signed a tax hike.

It wasn't a tax hike.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Except he didn't raise taxes.

Except that 16 days after he took office he signed a tax hike.

It wasn't a tax hike.

What was it, a tax cut?

 

[Sallow]

On the middle class.

He raised them across the board.

Unlike Reagan..who cut them for the rich..then really socked it to the middle class.

He raised them on the middle class because the only way to get more money for the government is to raise taxes on the middle class.

So Reagan gets a pass on raising taxes because he only raised them on the middle class..because if he raised them on the rich it wouldn't have gone into government coffers?

 

[TNHarley]

I started paying taxes when I was 14, I am now 27

Well..if you'd been paying attention..they've been going up for most of the time you've been working.

I have only been paying attention to that stuff in the last couple of years..
Never mattered to me..
Plus I get raises pretty consistently.. Well except for the last couple years