An inconvenient truth of many of the Nation’s perpetual debt woes is this: America is made up of Americans. It is a plurality. If politicians are accountable for anything, it is making bad decisions with taxpayer money. Amidst the finger pointing on Capitol Hill, the President and congressmen are avoiding the not so insignificant reality that the national debt ceiling crisis is the result of fiscal irresponsibility by the many, not just a few elites.
Private and publicly held debt comparable
A quick comparison of privately and publicly held debt is alarming. Private citizens hold 13.4 trillion in debt-that’s revolving debt, mortgages, loans, etc. The US Government owes 13.8 trillion. What is more, the American electorate was of the mindset “let creditors worry about you” before the financial crisis, nearly doubling its overall debt from 7 trillion dollars to 14 trillion, 100%, in the half decade leading up to financial collapse.
Government debt climbed from 6 billion dollars 9 billion dollars. This is 44% less than consumer debt over the same time period.
Government debt to cover deep, systemic slew of private crises
Let it not be forgotten the US Government had to take on substantial new debt with TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and continues to underwrite a floundering mortgage market. It is simply the case that private institutions, like Bear Stearns, once a bastion of American financial strength, took huge bets with large sums of money and lost. Private individuals, especially those who jumped on subprime mortgage opportunities, took the same gamble with their futures and the futures of their families. Read the rest of this entry »
