[Rhodes22-list] National Debt Correction

[Brad Haslett]

I made this same mistake the last time and Rik corrected me - I'll do it
myself this time.  It is very easy to confuse terms when you discuss budget
deficits and national debt.  This country was started on borrowed money, and
has been in hock ever since.  As a percentage of GNP, we're 35th in the
world. We briefly had a balanced budget under Clinton, which means we didn't
ADD to the debt, but we never paid it off.  The debt is currently over 8
trillion dollars, which is a big number but well below historical highs as a
percentage of GNP.  If our GNP falls rapidly, we're in trouble.  Think of it
like losing your job and not being able to pay your mortgage.  Borrowing
money in our personal lives is common.  If you borrow to buy a house, go to
college, or start a business, you are probably behaving prudently.  If you
borrow for a vacation to Vegas, perhaps not.  Our long term growth in
entitlement programs (read baby-boomers) is not sustainable - the public
equivalent of a mass trip to Vegas.

We could go into why paying off the debt too quickly is harmful to the
economy but let's not.  There is a reason economics is referred to as the
"dismal science".

Brad