This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse
Our national debt is rapidly approaching 21 trillion dollars, and yet Congress wants to follow up a large tax cut bill with a massive increase in federal spending. This is absolute madness, and it is going to make our long-term financial problems as a nation far worse. After passing the tax bill, the appropriate thing to do would have been to cut federal spending. Yes, that would have not been a positive thing for the economy in the short-term, but we must start addressing our long-term priorities. If we do not do something about this exploding national debt, it could potentially destroy our republic all by itself.
Earlier today, I was absolutely horrified when I learned of a budget deal in the Senate that would increase federal spending by about 200 billion dollars in each of the next two years…
The Senate’s Republican and Democratic leaders unveiled a sweeping two-year budget agreement on Wednesday that would increase federal spending by hundreds of billions of dollars on domestic and defense programs alike.
That deal would eliminate strict budget caps, set in 2011 to reduce the federal deficit, and would allow Congress to spend about $200 billion more in the current fiscal year and in fiscal year 2019.
Seriously?
Our federal debt is going to hit 21 trillion dollars some time this year, and they want to throw hundreds of billions of dollars more spending on top of what we are already doing?
This alone is why we need true conservatives all over the nation to run for Congress. Our endless greed is literally destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have.
I don’t know if I even have the words to describe how foolish our leaders are being. If interest rates on government debt were to return to their long-term averages, the game would already be over. We should be desperately attempting to get our financial house in order, but instead we are spending money as if tomorrow will never come.
But tomorrow always arrives, and a day of reckoning is fast approaching.
Fortunately, there are some members of Congress that seem to understand that we cannot keep spending money that we do not have. The following comes from USA Today…
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who chairs the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, wants to see what comes back from the Senate, said his spokesman Ben Williamson.
“But if the numbers are as high as we’re hearing, Rep. Meadows does not support the budget deal,” Williamson said.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., said “this spending bill is a debt junkie’s dream… I’m not only a ‘no.’ I’m a ‘hell no.’”
As a member of Congress, I would always be a resounding “no” vote on these sorts of absurd budget deals.
Whatever happened to all of the strong fiscal conservatives that we sent to Congress during the days of the Tea Party movement? So many of them seem to have been enveloped by the swamp and are now doing whatever party leadership tells them to do.
Sadly, most Americans don’t even seem to understand that we have been adding more than a trillion dollars a year to the national debt since Barack Obama first entered the White House. The following is an extended excerpt from one of my previous articles…
When Barack Obama entered the White House, the U.S. national debt was just over 10.6 trillion dollars, and when he left the White House 8 years later it was sitting just shy of 20 trillion dollars.
So during those 8 years more than 9 trillion dollars was added to the national debt. But for purposes of this example we will round down to an even 9 trillion dollars.
When you divide 9 trillion dollars by 8, you get an average of 1.125 trillion dollars that was added to the national debt per year during the Obama era.
Dividing that figure by 365, you find that an average of $3,082,191,780 was added to the national debt every single day during the Obama administration.
And since there are 24 hours in a day, that means that an average of $128,424,657 was stolen from our children and our grandchildren every single hour of every single day while Barack Obama was president.
Under President Trump, we should be dramatically reducing federal spending and the size of the federal government.
Yes, this would hurt the economy in the short-term, but if we continue down the road we are currently on it is a recipe for national suicide.
As interest rates rise, it won’t be too long before we are paying more than a trillion dollars a year just in interest on the national debt. And when America plunges into a debt nightmare, there won’t be anyone in the entire world big enough to bail us out.
America cannot be great again if we are drowning in debt. What is happening in Washington is utter madness, and it should greatly anger all of us that our irresponsible politicians are systematically destroying the greatest republic that the world has ever seen.
Michael Snyder is a pro-Trump candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.
Michael T. Snyder is a graduate of the University of Florida law school and he worked as an attorney in the heart of Washington D.C. for a number of years.Today, Michael is best known for his work as the publisher of The Economic Collapse Blog and The American Dream.
If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book [amazon text=Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming & How You Can Survive It&asin=150522599X].
Yes, they are nuts. Understatement of the century.
We are broke, we have been broke since LBJ decided to forget any sanity. NO, they aren’t nuts, they are US (WE maybe nuts). Real issue is; does it matter? As we now have reduced our need for oil imports in the event of a depression, perhaps now is as good a time as any to take the hit.
I’d rather go ahead and get it over with.
They will just print money to cover the difference or tax us on something else like gas.
Why is it I see in my mind’s eye a bunch of pasty fat bastards gleefully rubbing their hands together with smiles like hyenas closing in on a carcass? This is all one gigantic sham/charade we’re seeing. Even the great Orange one signed faster’n gunslinger’s draw while on meth. Something much bigger is in the works. Right now, it’s “look squirrel!!!” and we all just twist our necks to see. Eyes front.
That image of “a bunch of pasty fat bastards gleefully rubbing their hands together with smiles like hyenas closing in on a carcass”
Is not only in your, it is on full display everyday for everyone to see..anyone who cares enough to look, anyway.
Menzo:
I think it is happening as planned. “Are they nuts?” If by “nuts” you mean “crazy”, my answer is NO. If you asked, “Are they traitors deliberately sabotaging the people of America?”, the answer might be different.
The world banking system is set up to fail. Whenever a Country becomes too independent, too prosperous, it must be destroyed. Mediocrity, not superiority, is the goal. The very word has been undermined. It is evil to think yourself superior. Everyone is equal. It’s a lie.
In order to become solvent, the Central bank, digitized money, all of it has to become unnecessary.
Individual solvency is easier to deal with. Becoming debt free, at least free of a home mortgage, a car note, and especially credit cards. Owning a homestead that is completely paid off. Having solar energy, a well for irrigation and an old truck with no computer parts. Plenty of people with you who have multiple skills. Barter is the best way to solve the credit crisis. When the chips fall, it is back to basics.
_
Like it actually matters? we will never reduce the debt. there will never be fiscal responsibility. So much for Snyders fake outrage. The debt was increased by Bush to keep things afloat. then Obummer had to do the same by great amounts to keep kicking the can of deb down the road. And now Trump must do the same. As long as the USA Military can keep enforcing the Rule that all major oil trading must be done in USA Petro Dollars it will just continue.
It’s literally impossible to pay that debt so why worry about it? Besides, it was the govt. which racked up all that debt, not we the people.
True, but but that’s like saying; it’s your side of the boat that’s leaking.
Paranoid, Exactly!
I always ask folks if everyone in the world is in debt,
to whom do we make the payment checks out?
I think if we all just took a step back, we might find that we are all at zero, and can just carry on from there..lol
Actually,Washington is taking in record revenue in taxes. Basic economics: because of tax cuts,companies will hire more people who will now be paying taxes and not collecting hand outs. But I agree,we had 8 years of social spending under Obama,now we’re getting 2 more. Enough already !
Most debt in America is held by Americans,
not foreigners. We can deal with this
internally.
We supposedly owe trillions to our baby
boomers (I’m one). I paid into Social security
for 39 years. I don’t really expect to get
much of that back, but I will get some.
We owe trillions to retired government
Union people, Meh!
Union Democrats, elect Democrats that negotiate
union contracts, I could care less if they all
starve and die off because they killed off
the Tax base.
Our Debt, is like loaning money to family,
In my family there are only two people
I’d loan money to
because I know they will pay it back.
Everyone else, in the family, I consider
it giving money away to Charity.
I rarely donate money to Charity.
My time, materials, food, and clothing
I won’t give you the shirt off my back,
but I will dig one out of the dresser
and give it to you.
I donate freely.
“My time, materials, food, and clothing”
SHOULD read
“I donate my time, materials, food, and clothing”
Rellik, same here. I’m a boomer but not old enough to collect any SS yet. The way things are going I may not live long enough to collect any. None of this shit matters anymore.
TDBh, I paid in until I learned and realized that it was socialism. I stopped over a quarter a century ago. I don’t want it even if some government pension was offered me. I really do hate the concept of communism, socialism…. I just can’t abide it, the acceptance, inside me of it ethically. If I can no longer work, if my kids don’t give a damn, if I have not provided for myself.. I’ll die. By my own hand if I must. But seriously all here, all who profess to be self-sufficient, all who say they’ll take a stand – do you mean it? Are you really willing to go back to the way of life that we were meant to have where we are responsible for all facets, all moments and times of our lives? You cannot be both things. Dependent and independent. You cannot state you love freedom and liberty and wait impatiently for your check from the government. For be to be honest, all here know – really do know – that you did not pay in enough to offset what you plan on taking. Those funds are gone a hundred times over. They were NOT invested. They were not put back/saved for you. Spent – all of it. Gone. Does not exist. You, me – we paid for wars, welfare, pensions and healthcare for others. So, each penny you take is to take from some working slob who was hard at it this week. That’s theft. Plain and simple. Bitch all you want; but, that does not change facts and reality. Not one difference than an EBT card. It’s a hand-out, that’s all it is.
And this is why I went back to school and have career skills, because there will not be any socialist security for me. So I will have to keep on working. I’m enjoying my life at home while I have it. Once my hubby passes on, all will probably change. I hope not. I love it here.
Heartless: The some of your $$ and go see a shrink you damn buffoon you.
I will have gotten every cent I paid into SS in another couple of years. Interest has never been very high, so that would add very much. Everything after that will be coming from current workers.
If things can just hold together for a couple more years.
I have paid into Social Security since 1975, it was not voluntary. I have just qualified to start collecting but debated should I collect now or wait until age 66. Based on my own experience maybe it can help others decide for themselves. I chose to collect NOW for four reasons. First, the down side – if opting to collect earlier one only gets about 71% each month of what one would receive if they chose to wait until qualified for full retirement, but the upside – I am collecting each month now rather than waiting four more years and getting nothing in the mean time. For me it worked out if I waited to collect for full benefit I would have to live to 84 to equal the total collected since age 62; though in great health there is no guarantee I will see that age. Secondly, I married late in life, I have a 14 year old child, a lot of people don’t know this fact but if you have a child at home under the age of 18 they also qualify for Soc. Sec. until their 18th birthday, if I waited until age 66 that would have been lost. Thirdly, I was always angry about having to pay Soc. Sec., I’d rather kept it to invest myself. Some people call Soc. Sec. a benefit, it is not, it was forcefully taken from me and I want it back. But by FAR the single most important reason I want to collect now is that the gov’t not only has a gigantic and truly insurmountable debt, but is actually insolvent, even with its “assets”. The gov’t did not set aside and save Soc. Sec. taxes collected, they squandered it all. Not only will gov’t not pay its debt, it cannot, it is impossibly beyond any ability to do so, even if the will was there. The only way therefore gov’t can cope with its debt is try to inflate its way past it. I want to collect now because I surely believe in a few years Soc. Sec. will either be gone, or dollars will be next to worthless.
The US has a 20+ trillion dollar debt, and will grow by more than one trillion just this fiscal year. Then there is trillions of state and local gov’t debt, This too, is mostly beyond the ability to repay. It is likely this present so-called economic resurgence does not portend long-term wealth growth, rather, it may be the last spasm of a dying body. Therefore, it is best to take and accumulate all means and assets now while you can.
I say take what you can get from SS as soon as you can. It is NOT a hand out as I was forced to put money every pay day into their Ponzi scheme.
Second reason to take it as soon as you are eligible has to do with what the dollars can buy now compared to what they will buy in the future. As Bill pointed out you have to live quite a bit longer to make up the difference and inflation is not even factored in.
Hi Bill,
Very timely and interesting that you brought this up and in such a matter of fact, non emotional opinion. Going through this decision as well , only 63 1/2 with 14+1 year old daughter and 42 year old wife with no skills. I am unemployed now and unemployable. Both parents died at age 81, so biologically, “breakeven” point may be @64. The only concern is that my wife would be provided for, although she has 20 acres of farm land, city house in Cebu, resort area in Sipalay in the Philippines, all paid for, so that she would be comfortable if she ever relocated back there to her home country. I established all of this 18 years ago when we first got married. It also keeps any US creditors from attaching liens etc. , since she does not have US citizenship. I tell her the minute she gets US citizenship, the IRS would have their hand in those properties in a heartbeat.
I agree that the whole issue may be moot, especially if they means test you, the dollar become worthless, etc. Get the money while you can.
Bill I started drawing a 62 in now 66 and have been receiving checks for 4 years. It was a no brainer for me
BILL,
Good decision! Most don’t know it, but social security is ALREADY HALF of what it was back in 1980 due to unaccounted for inflation (in other words they lie about inflation to cut your benefit a little bit every year!)
It is going to be hammered by inflation going forward and it’s going to be cut by 25%, by law, when the “trust fund” runs out (if not sooner). This cut is in place now, unless congress acts. Does anyone think that Congress can make ANY decisions these days? They can’t, and the cut will be blamed on “well that was the law!”. There will be nothing left when you hit 84!!!! This is not even going to the means testing that is going to be implemented. Means testing is implemented in every program we have, don’t you think that will be extended to Social Security? Of course!
Get it while you can, don’t get greedy.
Icarus
What’s a few extra trillions wasted among friends and unjailed crooks? Gouge the peons until it hurts. Gas at the pump recently exceeded the hurricane bearing down price. American business are greedy pigs. If Snyder is anything different and wins office he will realize being a yes man pays much more.
Our endless greed is literally destroying the bright future that our children and our grandchildren were supposed to have.
Our what now?
Mumble abortion.
Mumble far below replacement birth rate because consumerist lifestyle.
Mumble immigration.
Drill baby drill. Drill a hole to the fucking center of the Earth, and when we die make Mexico pay for it (mumble immigration I don’t give a fuck how much he says he’s going to stop it, that’s total bullshit).
EXPLODE ? the Debt Exploded a long time ago. Dumb ass article.
Ya Snyder is a retard geuw lover. Probably listens to hannity and crap too. Just another mental midget with brainwashed views….
Supply side economic make the economy grow and therefore incoming tax receipts. Growing the economy with a bit of inflation is the best way to handle the debt.
The fly in the ointment, Tump doesn’t actually need to spend money appropriated by congress. Trump can continue taking an axe to liberal programs, hiring freezes in departments that support stupid liberal bull, can have a big impact. The game isn’t over.
It is apparent you don’t understand the mechanics of money inflation. If you take the time to study some economics text books or read the Federal Reserves own white papers you will learn that all money comes into existence as a result of borrowing. Therefore, mathematically, there is no way to pay back all of the principal and interest. That is why debt has to grow faster and faster over time in order to convert newly created principal into interest payments to repay former loans. Since it can’t go on in perpetuity, the whole system eventually collapses.
You really ought to brush up on this stuff before making such silly assertions of how “growing the economy with a bit of inflation is the best way to handle the debt”. Inflation is a result of debt.
Please don’t ignore the velocity of money in this. Under Obamanomics, the velocity of money slowed even with near zero interest rates.
Americans and corporations so uncertain about regulation and their future, kept billions on the sidelines doing nothing. Corporations at a loss as to how to use cash, did stock buy-backs which pushed the markets up, but takes money out of circulation.
Under Trump money is being given to employees as bonuses and raises, and invested in business expansion. For the first time since Obama was elected the employment participation rate has moved in a positive way. More employed Americans means a higher velocity in money.
The velocity of money is the first most important indicator of a growing economy.
The action of Trump and Congress is identical to many individuals who are insolvent and have made a decision to file bankruptcy. Right before filing the bankruptcy petition they will tell themselves “what the heck, I’m going to file bankruptcy so I’ll do it big”. So, they max out every credit card they have and spend their last remaining dollars on everything in sight.
Only THEN do they file their bankruptcy petition.
Don’t forget that Trump did tell us we were going to have to spend some money to get back on track. A couple of trillion if memory serves me correctly.
One way to get some back quickly…build the friggin’ wall. Between the drug problem and supporting illegals, we’re spending close to $500B a year. Black hole money which we’ll never see again. Doesn’t circulate in the economy. Not invested in infrastructure. Just poof.
IMHO!
A better idea is fook the wall and fine the living hell out of anyone who hires them and stop ALL benefits to them. Pretty simple and saves a huge shitload more than a wall. Stop all benefits of being here and guess what? THEY WON’T BE HERE! You are never going to stop the drug trade so that’s a moot point. Cut off funding to sanctuary states and watch them eat shit too! Why not make billions in fines and really address the problem or build a useless wall and spend $ up the ass for nothing (a wall won’t stop shit).
Genius:
We can fine corporations, stop benefits to illegals, legalize all drugs without prescription, fix the bridges, reservoirs; and perhaps still build a magnificent wall, bring home our military position them on the borders with or without a wall; and execute criminal rapist murderers regardless of their Country of origin.
_
The wall is more about stopping the human trafficking issue. We need to make it hard for people to come across the border.
Despite the MSM narrative that our economy is booming, people at the lower end of our economic strata have much less money. Very limited discretionary money to buy drugs. There’s a reason drug wars escalated this past year. The remaining cartels are jockeying for market share. We need to make every effort to make it hard as hell for both human traffickers and drug traffickers to do their jobs. You are correct when you state we will not be able to end the drug problem. But we can most certainly put a huge dent in the issue.
Gen,
Other than the fact that you hate my great grandparents.
You every hear of a Catholic j3w? They were.
You make very good sense about immigration
and drugs.
I don’t hate them for one. Catholasism is a CULT and judaism is also. They were simply CULT members. Mormon’s think they are some special shit too and that is one hell of a cult. I’m so damn tired I can’t spell but here’s a vid for ya!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipqqEFoJPL4
Fucking dope infused hippie music. Tells me you are no genius. Middle aged druggie.
Supposedly, international corporations which have a combined total of trillions of dollars abroad will bring it to the USA where it can be taxed at the lower rates. That and unprecedented growth will generate a lot of tax revenues. Sounds a little like planning on how to spend your lottery winnings when you haven’t won it yet.
Forget any logic, justification, blame, accounting methodology, concern about debt, deflation, inflation, economic growth, collapse, or any other conceivable “outcome” of this latest debt spending bill. Nobody even bothers to discuss it. Nobody cares. They were just pissed because they had to stay up late for something that was going to pass anyway. It is no longer relevant how much the Treasury/FED/ government borrows/prints/spends. The late hour speech by Rand Paul was nothing more than political grandstanding and a CYA maneuver designed to preserve any future “credibility” he thinks he might need when he runs for higher office.
Trump MUST outspend Obama in order to keep the GDP above 0% gain. Any real cut affects Wall Streets bottom line and is deflationary. You will never see a fiscal budget smaller than the previous year. NEVER. 2050 and you’ll see a $50T national debt. It MUST grow to cover the shortfalls of $75T. You will see new stock market highs set in a few weeks.
“…we need true conservatives all over the nation to run for Congress.” No, Mr. Snyder. We all just need to RUN!, period. This debt bomb will eventually explode, as the only way we can keep the monopoly game going is to print more worthless currency. Look at what happened to the Weimar Republic of Germany after WWI. Eventually foreigners will stop buying our worthless paper. It could happen next month, next year or 10 years from now, but it WILL happen. Get prepped with tangibles. Canned goods, shotguns, and shotgun shells come to mind.
To be truly prepared you need to be totally out of debt. We baby boomers will die in the luxury of our country’s deficit spending , but our grandchildren are f#@€ed
WW3 , Will cancel all debt?
You could have the entire congress made up of Rand Pauls and it wouldn’t do any good. the Debt can never be reduced. As soon as any drastic fiscal responsibility measures where passed the economy would collapse. The USa government is a insolvent as ill or calif. only choice it to keep spending and use the USA military to enforce the rest of the world to trade in Petro Dollars.
The picture in the article is misleading. the increase in the debt does not increase the amout of paper money in circulation . Not even one physical paper one dollar or one physical copper penny more is put into circulation when the debt is increased.
You are correct. They are nuts, and increased spending is always a bad idea. But if you haven’t noticed, the tax cuts have been accompanied by record low unemployment rates. That means far more people paying taxes. So even though taxes were cut, there should be an increase in tax revenue.
And yet people think it will be different with each election. The Republicans will get in your pocket by having you subsidize the rich and the Dems will take your money to support the poor. It won’t change until we are completely broke.
Money isn’t real; it is an illusion; the only thing true is inflation; the only two market forces that matter are the supply of any given commodity and the demand for the same commodity; these are easily manipulated through subsidy (reward) or taxation/regulation (punishment). Free markets died 100 years ago. Debt is irrelevant. The wealthy know these truths and that is how they remain wealthy and in power. “Monetary policy” of the elite wealthy class (spenders) is how they steal from the middle class (savers). It isn’t going to change. My grandfather (R.I.P. 1992) used to sing a song – “Oh, the rich get rich and the poor get poor, but in the meantime, in-between time, ain’t we got fun…”
Well said Mr. Snyder. Washington D.C. Is “nuts”. We have a bunch of imbeciles that cannot balance a checkbook managing OUR CHECKBOOK.
Yea, they must be nuts fo sure… [NOT]
Just think,
With Hillary, we’d be paying even higher taxes than before Trump was elected, as well as EVEN MORE increased spending than you now see.
After all, how else would we support an entire nation of illegal infiltrating mexicans, as well as millions of muslims “kid” terrorist, and a host of other world indigents looking for a free handout gifted from the labors of American Tax Payers?
With Trump, and an improving economy, our recent tax breaks, AND the very marginal increased spending is now being supported by increased tax revenue intake. Please go back to economics 101 class. You failed the first one!
These recent changes are now being supported from an economy that PAYS for these things, not one that continues to take us further into economic hell.
No matter how you try to paint this picture, the “Trump Effect” is in full swing, and better days are ahead for all.
Socio-Marxist Liberalism has been killed in America. You are only fanning the aromatic stench of what once was..
Stinks doesn’t it?
This is going to be great !
if you have no debts, some hard assets like gold, silver or property; you’re going to be living like a king ! you’ll have your own slaves that will do “anything” you want if you’ll share some food with you. it’s just going to be awesome !
(that’s assuming of course that you survive the chaos of the crisis and any attempt of the local, state or national govt to take everything from you or just kill you outright because they have determined you would cost more to them if they allowed you to live).
lena,
Awesome comment!
When we default, China will have over 1 billion skip tracers on our asses.
Trump is just going to spend and spend. Just like all Presidents. The wall will do nothing to stop illegals. MOST do not cross the Mexicsn border…they overstay visa’s. And most drugs don’t enter across barren borders, it comes in trucks and planes across legal crossings or through ports. Of which, less than 1 % of cargo containers are inspected.
Cargo containers only go through a special scan that checks for nuclear material. It doesn’t catch drugs.
And the US is NOT taking in more taxes in 2018. They will take in substantially less. This is easily checked in the government website that shows annual income from taxes, tariffs and fees. But hey, let’s build a useless wall, be the worlds police, and build up the filthy rich military and oil industries.
Exxon makes enough money. They don’t need a handout from the government!!!
I think the author, and most conservatives, fundamentally do not understand how the US financial system works. The US can print literally infinite amounts of money. The interest and debt are owed primarily to ourselves. Banks create money out of thin air to buy Treasuries, they won’t suddenly stop accepting US money, there is no alternative. For banks to continue to make money, they have to continue doing business in the real economy, which means money must keep flowing between buyers and sellers. If the banks stop buying Treasuries then the economy stops, and that’s simply not in their interest.
True, It’s a wasteful system. There is no need for the US dollar to be debt based. The power to print money should go back to the people on whom the value of the money is based. The government should create money debt free and spend it into the economy rather than borrow legally counterfeited money from banks to fund its operations. A debt-free money system would eliminate the debt in short order and reduce the need for taxes–no more income tax and other taxes. Watch Moneymasters.
Revalue gold. Get back to the treasury gold stolen from vaults under Twin Towers.
“Is Washington Nuts? Increasing Spending AND Cutting Taxes Will EXPLODE The Size Of The National Debt” Don’t worry- the MSM has been bribed into telling you there’s no inflation.