Will a $700 billion deficit wake America up?

[Brian Sweat]

Will it even matter?


According to a Bartcop, Sen. Fritz Hollings says that the real deficit for this year is $698 billion. Supposedly, it even says so on page 57 of the White House budget report. If this number is true, that works out to about $7,000 per house hold. It is about 7% of the GDP. Get ready for some serious inflation.

This is what happens when you put a credit card conservative in charge of the economy.

[Ripley]

1. No.

As long as they can buy shoes (made in China) for $9.99, WTF do they care?

[qb]

2. I doubt it

Once you get above a few million, the magnitude of the problem is lost on most people. Now if he media would regularly report how much this is for each taxpayer, and how much of the taxes you pay each year are thrown away on interest payments, it might have an impact.

[sujan]

3. check this out

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/030529/323/e14ki.html

[Brian Sweat]

We've already seen this.

It's horse manure.

[gasperc]

6. either way it's a retirement deficit

when we grow old, there will not be a proportional amount of money available to the retirement population which will affect the growth of the economy and maybe the stability of society

[Skittles]

4. NO

the American public simply doesn't understand figures that large OR what it means to the future of America. And don't count on the corporate press to inform them.

[qb]

5. Anyone care to hazard a guess at who's getting rich

off the insane interest payments U.S. taxpayers are making on the national debt?

[ferg]

8. the Chinese and Japanese

Although, they're not really getting rich, since interest rates are pretty low.

But one of the main reasons our interest rates are low is because the Chinese and Japanese are subsidizing us by buying treasuries.

[whoYaCallinAlib]

13. I wouldn't be so sure about getting rich . If you are holding dollar

denominated securities, you may be taking a beating on the falling dollar.

[MiltonLeBerle]

14. the uber-rich.

they hold the t-bills that offer a rock-solid return on investment. One of the reasons repukes love deficits.

[gasperc]

7. actually, I don't think inflation will be able to grow us out of this

interest rises will likely slow growth, the deficits have created a lackluster economy which will limp along or crash altogether until it is taken in a drastically new direction like in 1993

[whoYaCallinAlib]

9. To the average American, it doesn't matter.

And you are right, if this deficit keeps growing, a rise in interest rates and further economic pain will ensue.

[duid12]

10. probably not

>>Will a $700 billion deficit wake America up?

Probably not, but it will matter a *great* deal to the republicans when there is a democrat in the oval office and s/he overspends by even $1...because then they can campaign as the party of smaller, leaner, more effecient government again...

nobody cares about the deficit anymore...deficits are good, nobody ever has to pay them back...its like free money...we are only paying interest to ourselves anyway...</sarcasm off>

[Perky]

11. credit card conservative

That phrase is great! Everyone gets the concept.....You should copyright it..

[Yupster]

12. No, but I do think

it's time we all start subtracting out the social security surplus that masks the "real" defecit. We should call it 700 billion and keep social security out of the budget equation. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be in anyone's interests in Washington to do that, and it never has been.

[MiltonLeBerle]

15. no. The numbers mean nothing to them.

nt

[cthrumatrix]

16. only because it's election time so i say "yes"....otherwise it's Kobe and

gay priests shoved down our throats.