Debt

It's interesting that the national debt hasn't been mentioned very much by GOP contenders for the presidency. Sure, you wouldn't expect Democratic candidates Clinton and Sanders or their trained hamsters in the media to talk much about debt. Afterall, both Clinton and Sanders are proponents of big intrusive government (BIG) and tout more and more spending, free programs for their base consituencies, and therefore, they encourage more and more dependency on the federal government.

Oh, by the way, according to USDebtClock.org we're closing in on 19.3 trillion dollars in national debt with unfunded liabilities (Medicare and social security) approaching 101.6 trillion dollars! To steal a phrase from Bernie Sanders, there aren't enough millionaires and billionaires to cover the debt.


But no matter, Bernie and Hillary want to spend. After all, blue policies have lead to the worst economic recovery in modern history, to a job market in which part-time work is more common than ever, and a labor participation rate that is the lowest it has ever been in the modern era. So debt be damned, it's spend and spend some more, and in so doing, work hard to buy votes of those who gain some benefit from all the spending.

But what about the GOP candidiates? There has been very little talk of debt. The big question is, why? Debt is ruinous for a variety of reasons. It forces government to print money (they call it quantitative easing) devaluing the dollar as a result; it forces government and the fed to keep interest rates ridiculously low, hurting those who save rather than spend; it reduces the amount of discretionary funds available for defense, infrastructure, and the few critical government functions that should be funded at the federal level; it keeps pressure on politicians (of both parties) to raise taxes, thereby hurting the economy even more.

Could it be that GOP candidates are big spenders but remain in the closet on the issue? I don't think that's the case, but who knows? Could it be that the debt is boring, and it's more fun to throw childish insults around? Possibly. Or maybe its that we've already hit a tipping point, and they all know it. That debt is now so big that we can't reduce it, tax our way out of it, or wish it away. That we're really Detroit—except no one wants to admit it.

After all, think of what Detroit would be doing today if it could print its own money!


UPDATE (4/7/16):
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Ali Meyer expands on why every American should be concerned about the debt:

An auditor for the Government Accountability Office told lawmakers Wednesday that in the next few years the federal government will owe more than our entire economy produces.

Gene Dodaro, the comptroller general for the Government Accountability Office, testified at the Senate Budget Committee to provide the results of its audit on the government’s financial books.

“We’re very heavily leveraged in debt,” Dodaro said. “The historical average post-World War II of how much debt we held as a percent of gross domestic product was 43 percent on average; right now we’re at 74 percent.”

Dodaro says that under current law, debt held by the public will hit a historic high.

But no matter. After all, Bernie tells use about all the "free" stuff he intends to provide in his socialist utopia. Hillary puppy dogs behind him and hopes to scavenge a few younger left-wing voters. Big government is voracious. Sadly, the Democrats want more of it, and if they get their wish, it will lead to ruin.