Who said “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN”?
As I See It, anyone who doesn’t think that America, was, is and always will be ‘great’ qualifies for a one-way ticket to Havana, Beijing or Moscow, UNLESS they fear that the country is going broke!
Back in 1835, for the first and only time in history, President Andrew Jackson paid off the United States National Debt.
Where are we now?
Public debt now adds up to more than $22 trillion — the highest it has ever been.
This, despite the fact that we are in the largest economic expansion since World War II.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) anticipates that the U.S. will continue to rack up more debt faster than ever before.
Over the next 10 years, Congress will have to borrow another $1.2 trillion which is far higher than any time in the past 50 years.
The CBO said. “Other than immediately after World War II, the average deficit has never been so large over so many years,”
This is not a Democrat -vs- Republican issue.
Overspending and increasing debt rose to new heights under President Obama and has continued under President Trump.
What “National debt stood at 78 percent of GDP in 2018” means exactly, I’m not sure, but the CBO says “It will rise to 93 percent by the end of 2029”; that doesn’t sound good at all.
They reported that “By 2029, debt is estimated to reach $28.7 trillion,” referring to federal debt held by the public, and foreign investors, including both China and Russia.
What’s worse is that those numbers do not include about $5.5 trillion that the government owes to so-called trust funds, Social Security, pensions etc etc.
A bi-partisan statement from a former Republican Senator Judd Gregg, and former Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell says, “This is another sad reminder of the inexcusable tab our nation’s leaders continue to run up and will leave for the next generation,”
They also said, “Fiscal recklessness over past years has been shocking, with few politicians willing to step up with a real plan. We need responsible leadership to fix the debt, not a worsening of partisanship.”
Also, it was President Trump who promised that he would reduce America’s debt.
He said “If the national debt topped $21 trillion by the end of Obama’s Presidency, he will have effectively bankrupted our country.”
It is true that the national debt nearly doubled under Obama; He started with about $10.6 trillion and ran it up to about $20 trillion by the time he was done.
Trump said that he could solve America’s debt problem. “When you have $18-$19 trillion in debt, they need someone like me to straighten it out.”
Trump also said that his new tariffs on imported goods would let the U.S. “start paying down large amounts” of the national debt.
Q-Has it ?
More recently, the White House called on Congress to rein in what they call “irresponsible and unnecessary spending.”
But, some say that Trumps $1.5 trillion tax cut for the millionaires hasn’t helped at all.
Republicans in Congress and the White House had predicted that their tax cut would boost economic growth and help create jobs.
That might be true, but programs such as Social Security and Medicare will cost a lot more due to our aging population and rising health care costs.
One pundit opined, “The deficit typically grows during recessions — when tax receipts shrink and demand for food stamps and other government assistance rises. The current spike in the deficit at a time of strong economic growth and low unemployment represents a break with that historical pattern.”
Q – Is there real hope for a solution?
As I See It, probably not.
It costs millions of dollars to get elected and one way or another those dollars have to be paid back.
Politicians are bought, sold and paid for, long before they swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”
’til next time
