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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Same shit different day
Posted by:
ratrace
()
Date: May 02, 2009 08:04PM
Change "liberal" to "conservative" and "bush" to "obama". Funny how that works:
http://cat-e-whompus.blogspot.com/2007/08/national-debt-much-adoo-about-nothing.html
The National Debt: Much Ado About Nothing
One of the things that is near and deal to liberals hearts is their talking point that the Bush Administration has piled up ruinous debt that is grown at such a rate that it will eventually kill the US economy. Just yesterday, a letter from a local resident was published in our local paper that stated that the n ational debt is over $9 trillion dollars and growing. In her letter, she worried that an 'economic hurricane is poised on the horizon and headed in our direction.'
She's not alone. I've had any number of people I've talked to who dislike--even hate--the President who have said similar things to me. In each case, they have hurled out words to the effect that the President has run the country into the ground by running up the national debt. Sometimes they sound like Moses (played by Charlton Heston) telling Pharaoh to let the people go.
"RELEASE MY PEOPLE FROM THIS OPPRESSIVE DEBT!!!!"
There is just one little problem. The lady who wrote in to the local paper and my other liberal friends haven't got their facts straight. They don't understand the national debt.
To begin with, let us point out that the government is running at a deficit, but it is sharply lower this year. The Federal government took in $2.13 trillion in revenues for the budget year that began last October 1 and spent $2.27 trillion. According to this AP article, the Congressional Budget Office thinks the deficit will end up at the 'lower end' of the $150 -200 billion range. That's a substantial improvement from $239.6 billion the year before.
But liberals like to talk about the national debt, so lets look at that. The problem with the $9 trillion debt number is that it is meaningless to talk about it unless you have something to compare to. If a man weighs 230 pounds, is that too heavy? Without some other data, we have no way to say. If he is five foot eight, then yes he's too heavy. But if he is 6 foot six then it doesn't sound so bad.
Professional economists look at the national debt as a percentage of the GNP. What is GNP? It stands for gross national product, which is the total output of the US economy. GNP consist broadly of three things: Consumption (which is the sum of all goods and services bought and sold), Investment which is the total of all savings and investments that take place in the economy, and Government, which is the sum of all government spending.
Now interestingly, the national debt of the United States when measured as a percentage of GNP is basically on a par with Germany and France, who are hardly alarmed over their national debts.
Let's look at the the history of the national debt as a percentage of GNP. As of 2005, the national debt ran 64% of GNP. But back in 'the good old days'--1950, it was 87% of the GNP. I was born before 1950, and I haven't had to personally pay off any of the national debt yet!
"But...but.." the liberals fume, "think of the massive debt we are going to saddle our children with...its just not right to do that to our future generations! We should get rid of the national debt for the children...."
That statement sounds really dramatic--my goodness, we don't want to saddle our children and grandchildren with astronomical debt, do we--but it isn't a reality based statement.
The national debt of the United States isn't like yours or my mortgage. If we don't pay the mortgage on our house, the lender forecloses and we lose our house. But in the case of the national debt, fully 75% of the debt of the United States is internal. Half of it is one branch of government borrowing from either another branch of the federal government or from state and local government. Approximately 25% of the national debt is owed to--guess who--United States citizens and corporations. The bottom line is that 50% of the national debt number is 'funny money' meaning the government has borrowed from itself, and 25% is owed to people in the United States who are the very ones liberals vehemently argue have to pay the debt back.
Well, liberals argue, what about the Chinese, the Europeans, and all the other foreigners who lent the US governement the remaining 25% of the National Debt? If they call that debt in, our country would go down the tubes.
Well, no, thats not true, either.
You see, the Federal government doesn't borrow money and then not pay it back. The debt is issued in the form of financial instruments much like CDs that have maturity date. The government ALWAYS pays these instruments off on time, with interest. If anyone takes their government issued debt security and demands to be paid to day the government will tell them to take a hike and wait until the maturity date when they will get their money. The government just sells a security to someone else to pay off the securities that mature. Whatever foreign nations own part of the US National debt will get their money and they very well know it.
Now, in fairness, there are some things about deficits and the national debt that concern economists, but these things are not the silly talking points that liberals like to rant about and worry folks like the nice lady who wrote to our local newspaper.
There are lots of web sites and pundits breathing fire and brimstone about the evils of the US National debt. However, the reality of the national debt is that it has existed since shortly after the American revolution and will be there long after we are all dead and gone. In 200 years, no generation has gotten 'stuck' with the national debt, and our children are not going to either.
The liberal rhetoric over the national debt is full of sound and fury, but it signifies nothing.
http://cat-e-whompus.blogspot.com/2007/08/national-debt-much-adoo-about-nothing.html
The National Debt: Much Ado About Nothing
One of the things that is near and deal to liberals hearts is their talking point that the Bush Administration has piled up ruinous debt that is grown at such a rate that it will eventually kill the US economy. Just yesterday, a letter from a local resident was published in our local paper that stated that the n ational debt is over $9 trillion dollars and growing. In her letter, she worried that an 'economic hurricane is poised on the horizon and headed in our direction.'
She's not alone. I've had any number of people I've talked to who dislike--even hate--the President who have said similar things to me. In each case, they have hurled out words to the effect that the President has run the country into the ground by running up the national debt. Sometimes they sound like Moses (played by Charlton Heston) telling Pharaoh to let the people go.
"RELEASE MY PEOPLE FROM THIS OPPRESSIVE DEBT!!!!"
There is just one little problem. The lady who wrote in to the local paper and my other liberal friends haven't got their facts straight. They don't understand the national debt.
To begin with, let us point out that the government is running at a deficit, but it is sharply lower this year. The Federal government took in $2.13 trillion in revenues for the budget year that began last October 1 and spent $2.27 trillion. According to this AP article, the Congressional Budget Office thinks the deficit will end up at the 'lower end' of the $150 -200 billion range. That's a substantial improvement from $239.6 billion the year before.
But liberals like to talk about the national debt, so lets look at that. The problem with the $9 trillion debt number is that it is meaningless to talk about it unless you have something to compare to. If a man weighs 230 pounds, is that too heavy? Without some other data, we have no way to say. If he is five foot eight, then yes he's too heavy. But if he is 6 foot six then it doesn't sound so bad.
Professional economists look at the national debt as a percentage of the GNP. What is GNP? It stands for gross national product, which is the total output of the US economy. GNP consist broadly of three things: Consumption (which is the sum of all goods and services bought and sold), Investment which is the total of all savings and investments that take place in the economy, and Government, which is the sum of all government spending.
Now interestingly, the national debt of the United States when measured as a percentage of GNP is basically on a par with Germany and France, who are hardly alarmed over their national debts.
Let's look at the the history of the national debt as a percentage of GNP. As of 2005, the national debt ran 64% of GNP. But back in 'the good old days'--1950, it was 87% of the GNP. I was born before 1950, and I haven't had to personally pay off any of the national debt yet!
"But...but.." the liberals fume, "think of the massive debt we are going to saddle our children with...its just not right to do that to our future generations! We should get rid of the national debt for the children...."
That statement sounds really dramatic--my goodness, we don't want to saddle our children and grandchildren with astronomical debt, do we--but it isn't a reality based statement.
The national debt of the United States isn't like yours or my mortgage. If we don't pay the mortgage on our house, the lender forecloses and we lose our house. But in the case of the national debt, fully 75% of the debt of the United States is internal. Half of it is one branch of government borrowing from either another branch of the federal government or from state and local government. Approximately 25% of the national debt is owed to--guess who--United States citizens and corporations. The bottom line is that 50% of the national debt number is 'funny money' meaning the government has borrowed from itself, and 25% is owed to people in the United States who are the very ones liberals vehemently argue have to pay the debt back.
Well, liberals argue, what about the Chinese, the Europeans, and all the other foreigners who lent the US governement the remaining 25% of the National Debt? If they call that debt in, our country would go down the tubes.
Well, no, thats not true, either.
You see, the Federal government doesn't borrow money and then not pay it back. The debt is issued in the form of financial instruments much like CDs that have maturity date. The government ALWAYS pays these instruments off on time, with interest. If anyone takes their government issued debt security and demands to be paid to day the government will tell them to take a hike and wait until the maturity date when they will get their money. The government just sells a security to someone else to pay off the securities that mature. Whatever foreign nations own part of the US National debt will get their money and they very well know it.
Now, in fairness, there are some things about deficits and the national debt that concern economists, but these things are not the silly talking points that liberals like to rant about and worry folks like the nice lady who wrote to our local newspaper.
There are lots of web sites and pundits breathing fire and brimstone about the evils of the US National debt. However, the reality of the national debt is that it has existed since shortly after the American revolution and will be there long after we are all dead and gone. In 200 years, no generation has gotten 'stuck' with the national debt, and our children are not going to either.
The liberal rhetoric over the national debt is full of sound and fury, but it signifies nothing.
Re: Same shit different day
Posted by:
Mediator
()
Date: May 02, 2009 08:06PM
Thank you for your opinions and commentaries, but please refrain from offensive language in your titles.
Keep in mind that this is a family friendly forum.
Good Evening
Mediator
Keep in mind that this is a family friendly forum.
Good Evening
Mediator
Re: Same shit different day
Posted by:
trance
()
Date: May 02, 2009 08:32PM
Mediator Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for your opinions and commentaries, but
> please refrain from offensive language in your
> titles.
>
> Keep in mind that this is a family friendly
> forum.
>
>
> Good Evening
>
>
>
> Mediator
Does this look like a snake to you?
http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thank you for your opinions and commentaries, but
> please refrain from offensive language in your
> titles.
>
> Keep in mind that this is a family friendly
> forum.
>
>
> Good Evening
>
>
>
> Mediator
Does this look like a snake to you?
http://www.amishrakefight.org/gfy/