From whom have we borrowed? Whom must we repay?
What difference does that make since the government sets the value of money by increasing or decreasing supply?
Is inflation a way of whittling down the debt? Is that why government always seems to produce inflation?
Is inflation an insidious form of extra taxation?
Is the national debt just a bank subsidy?
What are your thoughts?
David Housholder Essays 
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February 4, 2010 at 7:28 pm
John Torvik
The national debt is over $12 trillion. The federal government (which represents us) owes that money to the owners of federal bonds which were issued to fund deficit spending. It is an immoral anchor on our children and our grandchildren’s future.
February 4, 2010 at 11:13 pm
Randy Wawrzyniak-Fry
There are times when deficit spending is necessary, however year after year of ongoing deficits with little desire to even discuss a balanced budget is indeed a terrible joke we are playing on generations to come.
February 5, 2010 at 4:34 pm
David Housholder
Are all the bonds that people own part of this? T-Bills? Like war bonds from before? What percentage of the US govt debt is owned by foreign interests?
February 5, 2010 at 8:17 pm
Randy Wawrzyniak-Fry
The debt is made up of treasury securities including Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, Treasury Bonds, Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS)
I Savings Bonds, and EE/E Savings Bonds. More information about these securities can be found here http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/products.htm
Of the $12 trillion in total debt about $3.5 trillion (roughly 30%) are held by foreign countries, the largest being China and Japan which each hold close to $800 billion. The more interesting number is that there is about $7.8 trillion of debt “held by the public” the remainder being Intragovernmental Holdings which are “Government Account Series securities held by Government trust funds, revolving funds, and special funds; and Federal Financing Bank securities. A small amount of marketable securities are held by government accounts.” This means that about 45% of the debt “held by the public” is actually held by foreign countries.
All of these figures come from the Treasury Department website http://www.ustreas.gov
February 5, 2010 at 1:07 am
Luthor Nelson
I’d rather comment on the debt. For 40 years the ratio of the deficit to the GNP has been 2.7% on average. Those unbalanced years have created a real problem for us and now it is only accelerating. Obama is blowing that number out of the water in an unprecedented way. His 2009-2011 budgets are 9.9, 10.6 and 8.3% if the GNP. By the time we get to 2011, judging by experience he will fly past 8.3. OMB says by 2020 our national debt will be 77% of our GNP for that year. Economists say that when you hit 80% your economy collapses. Over the next few years the producers are going to have to be taxed so much that our international competitiveness will be destroyed. He hates the producers. He thinks we can all give more.
While campaigning he told business graduates in Arizona that as they think about their future and that big corner office they might get, to instead think of a more honorable career in the public sector. He said it has a lower salary but higher fulfillment. He then affirmed that recently by saying he will forgive school debts for regular people after 20 years but people in the public sector after just 10 years. His wife also made negative comments about private sector business as opposed to the more honorable public sector. Where do they think their money comes from?
February 6, 2010 at 5:41 pm
David Housholder
http://defeatthedebt.com/understanding-the-national-debt/
Have a look at the above link–it made a lot of sense to me.
It include a current clock which lists our debt to the second.
It explains a lot.
Thanks to Terry Paulson for sending me the link.
February 6, 2010 at 6:45 pm
Randy Wawrzyniak-Fry
I’ve been to this site before. The debt clock is interesting, but it’s a gimmick. It’s not linked to actual sales of government securities.
I question the motives behind the web site. The website says “The largest foreign holders of US debt include countries with whom we have complex or even antagonistic relationships: China, Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Libya, among others.” Why do they not mention Japan, who holds almost as much debt as China and more than twice that of Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Libya combined. That plays more on emotion than on fact.
February 6, 2010 at 7:25 pm
David Housholder
Is there a better site with less agenda?
February 6, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Randy Wawrzyniak-Fry
An agenda isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if you know what it is. Being a Reaganite I’m of the “trust but verify” school, which means going back to the Department of the Treasury web site to verify. Of course the Treasury Department also has its own agenda.
btw – Did you know that the Treasury Department has a website where you can make gift donations to pay down the national debt. I’m not sure but I don’t think the gifts are even tax deducible. There is a statement on the site that “These donations are voluntary, and no goods, services, or other considerations are provided to the donors.” I wonder how many gifts they actually receive and where the money really goes. I’m guessing it goes straight to the general fund.
March 3, 2010 at 4:05 pm
Dave
Other nations could potentially precipitate a financial crisis in the US by annoucing they will no longer finance our debt. We owe China, for example, a boodle. Financial blackmail? If other nations stop lending money to Uncle Sam, the feds wil lhave no choice but to print more money. Then you get the spiralling inflation that could destroy the economy and lead to unpredictable but surely disastrous consequences. I jotted a post about this in “Those Guys Must Be Crazy”.