It's a shame that the deficit for fiscal year 2010 was 122 billion less than last year.

Picture the debt's growth as a car's speed. The car is going faster and faster and faster (the speed is growing). But, it's going up at a slower rate than it has previously.

The debt is going up, but the increase is slowing down. These things take time, and we haven't had a budget surplus since Clinton, and Andrew Jackson in 1835 was the largest period of trade surplus before then.

The point is to live your life and try to do what you can to make the best of your situation. We can argue numbers and policies til we're blue in the face, or we can try to focus and push for more good, instead of arguing about all the bad.

-JT

I'm not sure if the government knows this and is bluffing (sort of a we can shut down the internet so don't even try using it), or is just not understanding. There isn't a way to shut down the internet. They might be able to force the major DSL and comcast servers to shut down, but we could still use dial up. we could still use servers in different countries for those who live on the borders.

Just some thoughts on the size of the deficit. If you have $1 Million dollars and you spend $1000 a day, assuming no intrest gathers, how long will it take to go thru the Million?
Ans 3 years

How about $1 Billion
Ans 3 Thousand years

Now haw about $1 Trillion
Ans 3 MILLION YEARS.

Kinda opens your eyes just how big this bloody debt is.

Paddy

Now imagine 300 million people doing that, and imagine transactions from the country with the largest GDP in the world, and spending a lot more than $1000 per day, to provide us with privileges and opportunities that aren't present elsewhere.

Note, I'm not saying the debt is a good thing, but I am saying that even under Clinton, who saw four consecutive years of a budget surplus, the change took one full term to get to that point. And he wasn't working with record deficits exacerbated by mistakes out of his control.

-JT

According to a recent report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS), the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost close to $1 trillion thus far. (link at forbes.com)
Afghanistan started in 2001; Iraq in 2003. The current year is 2010. Thus, according to my math the expenses for these two wars reached $1 trillion in 10 years.
This means that not only can the deficit can be paid off in 10 years, but a balanced budget would also make the world more peaceful.
And this could be accomplished in 10 years.

Scaremongering by playing with numbers doesn't help the situation, especially when the numbers don't add up.

ElC, my math is correct. Just write out the figures and drop the last six zeros and you will see.
1 Million 1,000,000
1 Billion 1,000,(000,000) Notice, it is 1 thousand million
1 Trillion 1,000,000,(000,000) Notice it is 10million million.My math is never wrong.

You are trying to do he same thing the polititions are doing and that is playing with statistics. Yes statistical analysis is very accurate, but then when you add in the probability factors of sociological impact, you're screwed.

$1000 x 1,000,000 = 1 Billion 1,000,(000,000) Notice, it is 1 thousand million

1,000,000 days is EXACTLY 2777 years and 280 days (using the 360-day year commonly used in accounting).
(If we used the actual 365 days - or 366 as needed - the amount of time needed would decrease even further.)

3000 years
x 360 days/year
= 1,080,000 days

Thus:
$1000 per day
x 1,080,000 days
= $1,080,000,000.00

If we were to use your example, we would be paying for almost another 223 extra years for an additional amount of $80,000,000.

If you like, I can also explain - step by step - why your example with $1,000,000,000,000 is also wrong. I can also explain - step by step - how the deficit can be paid off in approximately 10 years without changing US tax codes.
(In addition to a lawyer, you should also hire the services of an accountant)

Paddy you're using 300 days for a year. If you assume this, then your arithmetic is correct. However, ElC is showing that in accounting they commonly use a 360 day year. Or, we could use the 365.25 day that we commonly accept in casual conversation.

I don't see the issue with his math.

-JT

EXCUUUUSE me for rounding off! it should have been 2,739,726.02739726 years for a $trillion and 2,739.72602739726 years for a $billion. ElC you are just trying to be, and are very successful at being, a smart A$$. Remember no one loves a smart A$$.

As I said earlier, my math is never wrong, I may round off to make it easier to comprehend but it is not wrong. Please stop pretending that you are smarter than others.

I'm sorry but when the rounding is extrapolated to trillions and billions, it's quite a difference.

And ElC, how exactly would that work? 10 years to get rid of the deficit without changing tax codes? I'm guessing cutting out the world policing would be a part of it.

-JT

I never would have guessed that Paddy was a Conservative... Just thought I would say that hahaha

I am not a conservative. I do believe that each and every person has a choice in life. Also that anyone, ANYONE can choose to be successful. So why should we who are successful pay for those that choose to be failures. Yes there are some who because of disabilities must be cared for by the state and we should take care of those, however, I KNOW that for a fact even those with debilitating disease can still make their own living. That, I don't think makes me a conservative.

Yes the "liberal" view is that the state knows all and can take care of all our problems by making those who succeed pay for all those that choose not to.

End of philosophical rant.

Paddy

Actually, I think that is more like the "conservative" party line view of the "liberal" view.

People do have choices, but some have MANY more than others.

In the U.S. compared to many other countries, a person's income is highly based on the previous generation.

http://www.economicmobility.org/assets/ ... ummary.pdf

This is the study cited in the most recent TIME magazine about "Restoring the American Dream".

-JT

This topic has gotten so far astray.