USA election = Choosing a new captain for the Titanic?

[L.C.E.C.]

noname2200 said:

akuma587 said:

 

You see that little dip in the 90's?  That was how much of a difference Clinton was able to make.  I blame politicians like Reagan (see the big jump for when he was president?) who would cut taxes until our country burned to the ground.  Tax cuts will destroy this country's economy, you heard it here first.

Hmm, interesting. If your source is accurate, then it appears that I've been misinformed about the debt. Granted things aren't quite as lopsided as the chart shows. Half the debt is money that the government owes itself, mostly to the Social Security and Medicare programs, each of which can be "erased" with legislation, hence my earlier post, although again good luck finding the political capital to do so. Further, the debt's been higher in relation to GDP (i.e. our ability to actually pay it off) before, notably in the 30's, 40's, and 50's, so we have been through worse debt-wise.

Still, I won't deny that the figures you've brought to the table are impressive, and in a bad way. Call me an optimist, but I still think we can get through this if we're willing to, and that we will get through this in the end. But you are correct that the debt is quite a load to bear. For now, I'll stick to my view that things will be okay in the long-term, although there will be short-term suffering. I concede, however, that things are worse than I had first thought.

meh, same here... BTW, every history professor I have ever had has said there is no movement or need to pay national debt. Instead, it just means the other  country gets it postponed with political/military favors.