A simple, straightforward question.

[Rick2542]

Bailouts, stimulus, tax cuts, deficits.... just how is all of this going to be paid back? Or is that even in the plan?

 

[Harry Dresden]

Bailouts, stimulus, tax cuts, deficits.... just how is all of this going to be paid back? Or is that even in the plan?

what is in it for the taxpayer?.....a 13 dollar a week raise?....wow.....here in California the failed legislators want to raise taxes on EVERYTHING.....there goes that 13 bucks....and then some....

 

[garyd]

I believe based upon past history that the usual Demonrat plan is to make interest payments while continuing to borrow while hoping that the second coming happens before they have to actually consider paying it all back. It works fine as long as they can find some one willing to accept the debt.

They don't really have to worry about anyone calling the note. China has so much US debt now that a US default would bankrupt them as well as us.

 

[roomy]

Bailouts, stimulus, tax cuts, deficits.... just how is all of this going to be paid back? Or is that even in the plan?

I think BikerSailor might have something to say about you using his pic as an avatar unless of course it is you and you have multiple accounts?

 

[pete]

What do they care they will not have to worry about it.

 

[auditor0007]

Bailouts, stimulus, tax cuts, deficits.... just how is all of this going to be paid back? Or is that even in the plan?

Everyone is going to write a check to the federal government for $40,000 next year once the economy is back into full swing. Of course, if you have a family of four, you'll have to make the check out for $160,000. That is how much this debt is costing us. In real terms, it will cost us around $600 billion or so just to pay the interest.

The way to reduce the deficit in the long term is to cut spending to the point that we are not borrowing much if at all, and to allow the economy to grow while we continue to pay the interest. If the economy doubles in size over twenty-five years and the debt has not been increased, then it would effectively cut the debt by around 70%.

The real problem is cutting the spending. We have fallen into a rut of spending more than we can afford. At some point, it has to stop. On top of that, we are facing enormous increases in SS and Medicare spending. Both of those programs will have to be revamped in order to avoid draconian tax increases on everyone.

To add even more difficulty to our long term debt problems is the fact that our population is not increasing at the rate it has over the last 50 years, and the decline in the rate of population increase is likely to slow even more in the future. It was easy to greatly expand our economy over the past 50 years because we had a population explosion (baby boomers). We are not likely to see this type of population explosion again, nor is seeing one in our overall best interests as we are already pushing the limits of our natural resources.

The challenges we face long term are monumental, and that is not an exaggeration. We are going to need leaders who actually give a damn about our long term prosperity over their own power trips, and it's going to take people with great philosophical differences to come together and work together if we want any serious solutions to be found.

The alternative will be an overall collapse of our economy and a dramatic drop in our standard of living. This is not likely to affect us but much more likely to affect our children, grandchildren, and those who follow.

Actually, when I said the economy needed to double in 25 years, I meant to say that it would double twice in 25 years.

 

[garyd]

Precisely Auditor unfortuantely the party of the left doean't hink that way.

 

[mash107]

The party of the so called right didn't believe that either over the last 8 years. All the so called 'fiscal conservatives' in that party were debating whether pork or not exists in a spending bill, not the fact that jobs will be destroyed because of that very spending. We've accumulated this huge debt through both parties. This is a problem that needs to work itself from education, too. It seems many thinks the amount of money the federal government spends does not have a negative effect on their life, no matter what it is spent on. Even a stimulus package, that has no pork in it at all, destroys jobs. A private market can create more jobs than this ~$250k/job package Obama is soon to sign. An unemployed person doesn't remodel his kitchen, why do we think the government can do its equivalent? Soon enough, it will be clear to everyone, if the declining standard of living isn't enough, that it is government that is doing us in, and more of it will only speed up our demise.

 

[Rick2542]

BikerSailor and myself will have to hash that one out, and no I don't have multiple accounts. I like understating myself, Alfred fits that role.

 

[Rick2542]

"Everyone is going to write a check to the federal government for $40,000 next year once the economy is back into full swing. Of course, if you have a family of four, you'll have to make the check out for $160,000. That is how much this debt is costing us. In real terms, it will cost us around $600 billion or so just to pay the interest."

Goes to show you how far behind I've become, the last time I checked the amount we all owed was around 26k each. And mind you this is in an era of very low interest rates. I think you nailed it with the drop in the standard of living, but I think that is coming well before our kids and grandkids time. But before all this is said and done there will be a major war over this. Hard times lead to political instability, which lead to war. I hope I'm wrong but these markers will come due.