Government Debt

When you measure government debt, it's not just measured in terms of total dollars, but most often it is measured in terms of percent of total GDP. When there is a sharp economic downturn, GDP is going to be low for some time. We do not have an economy that is operating at full capacity. So if GDP is low, of course, the debt to GDP ratio is going to increase. If you add upon that more debt incurred from the economic stimulus package and other spending, the debt is going to be high. We must therefore ask where and why this debt is rising. It is not all about the economic stimulus package. Trillions of dollars worth of spending is going towards wars with little to show for it, for instance. Military, high health care costs, and bailouts are the major contributors to the high debt loads. Thus we reach the current impasse with the debt ceiling, an anachronistic legislative tool that serves no real purpose. It's a soap opera situation in Washington; theatrics and grandstanding. Ho... Read more

Well, congratulations are in order; we hit the debt ceiling today: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43047857 Congress probably won't do anything until Obama cuts lots of spending programs to the poor, education, parks, etc.

Well we hit the debt ceiling today, if congress is smart they will raise the limit. If memory serves it has been raised 74 times since 1962, of that 10 times since 2001. Politicians are getting petty over this (as per the norm), but if they raise the limit, I don't think any huge disaster is going to come of this. Or, y'know, they could just stop wasting money.