Why isn't anyone talking about the national debt anymore?

[Super_Lantern]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

 

[TheOldSchool]

Because nobody understands it and nobody really cares. If I told you our debt was $20 trillion, or I told you it was $500 trillion, you'd probably have an equal reaction to both just like everyone else would. It is what it is

 

[Nosmo King]

We're awfully busy. After all, the 1996 Miss Universe winner is fat and tweets must be issued cinfirming that.

 

[Asclepias]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

If you understood the monetary system you would have no need to ask that question.

 

[Votto]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

Yes.

$20 trillion is not even a real number

 

[Staidhup]

The only way the national debt would ever be reduced requires a freeze in government hiring, reduction in federal redundancy, federal lay offs, transference of the departments of housing and Urban development, labor, education, transportation,Health and human services back to the states. Leaving Veterans affairs, interior dept, Justice, commerce, energy, defense, homeland security, and State remaining.
The Soc Sec cap would be abolished, means testing employed, foreign aide reduced, rewriting of the federal tax code, approval of a balanced budget amendment, line item veto, and mandatory establishment of legislative riders, just for starters.
In short political suicide.
Be realistic when was the last time a politician was elected that wan't bought and paid for that had the guts to address the bloat and could recognize were living on borrowed time?

 

[Votto]

Debt = slavery

Which is why they never pay it down.

 

[Super_Lantern]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

Yes.

$20 trillion is not even a real number

You mean it isn't an accurate number? They just throw it out there?

 

[Truth2Know]

You mean it isn't an accurate number? They just throw it out there?

The national debt number is real. Here is a good history of how we have gotten to where we are: US National Debt by Year – Polidiotic.

The problem is that our debt is only part of the issue. The US has massive unfunded liabilities, on the order of $100T+. America's Real Debt Shocker: $100 Trillion Owed in Unfunded Liabilities But I digress.

Currently, interest payments on the national debt constitute about 6% of the Federal budget. By 2030, interest costs are projected to be 14% of the budget - and growing. Q&A: Everything You Need to Know About the National Debt - Fix The Debt

The FED is doing its best to keep interest rates low in order to limit the damage inflicted by our massive national debt. They won't be able to keep the cap on forever. Then our debt will be more of a problem.

To answer your original question, only through great restraint and sacrifice will we be able to pay down the national debt. Given the general mindset of the masses, this is impractical, so why talk about it? Just keep giving people freebies so they don't notice that the value of our money continues to fall. A growing debt just facilitates business as usual. Let's talk about slighted beauty pageant contestants instead ....

 

[oreo]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

Well what do you expect when Republicans just nominated a big spending Rino?

No they're just talking about a WALL that will never be built and how many immigrants they're going to deport.




In fact this is the new Republican pledge of Allegiance.

"In fact, a list of what “Republicans” now stand for has nothing at all to do with policy or principle, but rather is filled with beliefs about very specific concepts. For instance, being a member of the current GOP pretty much requires you to pledge allegiance to most, if not all, of the following views:

• That Hillary and Bill Clinton are at least an accessories to murder if not murderers, the DNC killed a member of its staff for leaking her emails, her use of which was the greatest national security breech in history, and Vince Foster killed himself because of Hillary nagging him (assuming he really wasn’t murdered).
• Hillary Clinton is hiding a severe illness which makes her incapable of holding office and which will soon cause her death (well, at least we might not have to worry about her serving two full terms!).
• President Obama is easily the worst president in history, a Muslim terrorist sympathizer, the founder of ISIS, and likely wasn’t really born in the United States.
• The Republican “establishment” is a bunch of impotent losers because they lost two elections to a media darling and can’t override vetoes without a super majority, but a guy who has never been truly leading a candidate like Hillary in the polls is a sure winner.
• Conservative writers at the National Review and Weekly Standard along with Charles Krauthammer, George Will and Brit Hume are all out-of-touch wimps who can’t be trusted to tell us the truth, but Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge and Alex Jones would never lie to us for profit (expect for maybe that whole Alex Jones “9/11 Truther” thing, which we’ll sort of pretend didn’t happen).
• When in doubt, Trump is always right, no matter what he has said in the past, even when it has directly contradicted his previous statement, and even if that happens on the same day, or in the same interview.
• Deporting illegal immigrants and building a huge wall on our Mexican border is the most important thing we must do, unless Trump changes his mind.
• There is nothing more significant (especially now that we’ve forgotten about that whole illegal immigration thing) than making sure that the person who picks the next Supreme Court justice is the same guy who was recently favors eminent domain and curtailing the First Amendment, and who picked Arsenio Hall and Piers Morgan as the “Celebrity Apprentice.”
• The news media has never been more biased than they are against Trump, which is why they gave him two billion dollars in free advertising in the primaries and why he just hired the head of a major conservative “news” outlet to head his campaign while using Sean Hannity and Roger Ailes as advisors.
• The background of a potential First Lady and her ability to properly represent the country no longer matters (that’s so 2008!).
• Experience in public office no longer matters (that’s so 2008!).
• Using a Teleprompter is good, unless it is bad (that’s so 2008!).
• Flip-flopping means nothing (so 2004!).
• Releasing your tax returns (even when you entire campaign is based on your wealth) means nothing.
• Words mean nothing.
• Having class or decency means nothing.
• Limited government means nothing.
• Fiscal responsibility means nothing.
• Cozying up to Vladimir Putin is numerous bizarre ways means nothing.
• Campaigning as an amazing manager of people but running a campaign that is in constant chaos and disarray means nothing.
• Lying is a total disqualifier for Hillary, but when Trump lies it is simply part of the “Art of the Deal.”
• Polls are either wrong or part of a massive nonsensical conspiracy, unless Trump is winning.
  Facts mean nothing (unless they are sanctified by Matt Drudge, in which case they are then gospel).
• Stories from “mainstream” media sources are inherently wrong, even if all they are doing is reporting Trump’s actual words.
• Hillary is the worst person who has ever lived and would be such a dangerous president that we must do everything possible to defeat her, except actually bother to consider electability when it comes to picking our nominee."
• All Along I Thought Trump Wasn’t a Conservative/Republican, But Now I Realize I’m Not

 

[Ozone]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

Well what do you expect when Republicans just nominated a big spending Rino?

No they're just talking about a WALL that will never be built and how many immigrants they're going to deport.




In fact this is the new Republican pledge of Allegiance.

"In fact, a list of what “Republicans” now stand for has nothing at all to do with policy or principle, but rather is filled with beliefs about very specific concepts. For instance, being a member of the current GOP pretty much requires you to pledge allegiance to most, if not all, of the following views:

• That Hillary and Bill Clinton are at least an accessories to murder if not murderers, the DNC killed a member of its staff for leaking her emails, her use of which was the greatest national security breech in history, and Vince Foster killed himself because of Hillary nagging him (assuming he really wasn’t murdered).
• Hillary Clinton is hiding a severe illness which makes her incapable of holding office and which will soon cause her death (well, at least we might not have to worry about her serving two full terms!).
• President Obama is easily the worst president in history, a Muslim terrorist sympathizer, the founder of ISIS, and likely wasn’t really born in the United States.
• The Republican “establishment” is a bunch of impotent losers because they lost two elections to a media darling and can’t override vetoes without a super majority, but a guy who has never been truly leading a candidate like Hillary in the polls is a sure winner.
• Conservative writers at the National Review and Weekly Standard along with Charles Krauthammer, George Will and Brit Hume are all out-of-touch wimps who can’t be trusted to tell us the truth, but Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Matt Drudge and Alex Jones would never lie to us for profit (expect for maybe that whole Alex Jones “9/11 Truther” thing, which we’ll sort of pretend didn’t happen).
• When in doubt, Trump is always right, no matter what he has said in the past, even when it has directly contradicted his previous statement, and even if that happens on the same day, or in the same interview.
• Deporting illegal immigrants and building a huge wall on our Mexican border is the most important thing we must do, unless Trump changes his mind.
• There is nothing more significant (especially now that we’ve forgotten about that whole illegal immigration thing) than making sure that the person who picks the next Supreme Court justice is the same guy who was recently favors eminent domain and curtailing the First Amendment, and who picked Arsenio Hall and Piers Morgan as the “Celebrity Apprentice.”
• The news media has never been more biased than they are against Trump, which is why they gave him two billion dollars in free advertising in the primaries and why he just hired the head of a major conservative “news” outlet to head his campaign while using Sean Hannity and Roger Ailes as advisors.
• The background of a potential First Lady and her ability to properly represent the country no longer matters (that’s so 2008!).
• Experience in public office no longer matters (that’s so 2008!).
• Using a Teleprompter is good, unless it is bad (that’s so 2008!).
• Flip-flopping means nothing (so 2004!).
• Releasing your tax returns (even when you entire campaign is based on your wealth) means nothing.
• Words mean nothing.
• Having class or decency means nothing.
• Limited government means nothing.
• Fiscal responsibility means nothing.
• Cozying up to Vladimir Putin is numerous bizarre ways means nothing.
• Campaigning as an amazing manager of people but running a campaign that is in constant chaos and disarray means nothing.
• Lying is a total disqualifier for Hillary, but when Trump lies it is simply part of the “Art of the Deal.”
• Polls are either wrong or part of a massive nonsensical conspiracy, unless Trump is winning.
  Facts mean nothing (unless they are sanctified by Matt Drudge, in which case they are then gospel).
• Stories from “mainstream” media sources are inherently wrong, even if all they are doing is reporting Trump’s actual words.
• Hillary is the worst person who has ever lived and would be such a dangerous president that we must do everything possible to defeat her, except actually bother to consider electability when it comes to picking our nominee."
• All Along I Thought Trump Wasn’t a Conservative/Republican, But Now I Realize I’m Not

no, that's just what we want you to think. to put it another way, you're wrapped in the news media, the news media is like bubble tape, and it's funny to watch you struggle to pop the little buggers one at a time like this. well, it is.

 

[Frank'sRules]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

Why did you think it ever would be?

Debt can be good or bad. The world loves American debt.

 

[thereisnospoon]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

The in the bag for Hillary media wants this buried.

 

[thereisnospoon]

The only way the national debt would ever be reduced requires a freeze in government hiring, reduction in federal redundancy, federal lay offs, transference of the departments of housing and Urban development, labor, education, transportation,Health and human services back to the states. Leaving Veterans affairs, interior dept, Justice, commerce, energy, defense, homeland security, and State remaining.
The Soc Sec cap would be abolished, means testing employed, foreign aide reduced, rewriting of the federal tax code, approval of a balanced budget amendment, line item veto, and mandatory establishment of legislative riders, just for starters.
In short political suicide.
Be realistic when was the last time a politician was elected that wan't bought and paid for that had the guts to address the bloat and could recognize were living on borrowed time?

All perfectly reasonable ideas.
Cut cut cut.

 

[Frank'sRules]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

The in the bag for Hillary media wants this buried.

You think Trump would pay off the debt? Debt is all he's based his life on. That's how he got rich.

 

[Rozman]

Have we all just conceded it's not getting paid off?

No one in the political realm seem to care a bit about it.
When interest rates go up and at some point they will then the payments
to service that goes up...

When will someone face the problems with SS and Medicare...

Ticking time Bombs...

But we have candidates who want to focus on bigger issues for them....

Talking about beauty contests winners and Bill and Monica....
And a microphone that wasn't working..

 

[Staidhup]

The national debt issue will continue to be kicked down the road until it is too late. It will become an issue when debt service equals or exceeds entitlement spending.Then they will blame it on someone else. It has simply become the Teflon issue no one wants to touch.

 

[AntonToo]

No one in the political realm seem to care a bit about it.

They are doing what public demands.

If you have two politicians:

one promises tax cuts and spending, more growth, more jobs and more debt.
other promises tax hikes, austerity, less growth, job loss and less debt

Which one do you think public will vote for?

 

[easyt65]

It's sorta like the 'Eskimo' joke:

2 Eskimos are walking along and come upon what appears to be a pile of crap.

'Kimo 1: Smell.
'Kimo 2: Smell?
'Kimo 1: Smell!
- 'Kimo 2 smells...
'Kimo 2: Smells like polar bear shit

'Kimo 1: Taste.
'Kimo 2: Taste?
'Kimo 1: Taste.
- 'Kimo 2 tastes...
'Kimo 2: Taste like Polar Bear shit.

'Kimo 1: Must be polar bear shit...good thing we didn't step in it.


No one wants to step in THAT shit right now.

 

[ColonelAngus]

Because nobody understands it and nobody really cares. If I told you our debt was $20 trillion, or I told you it was $500 trillion, you'd probably have an equal reaction to both just like everyone else would. It is what it is

I agree. Lots of stupid shits out there.