Promised Land Homestead

National Debt

Ever see the National Debt Clock in New York City?  I remember seeing it when I visited there in 1998.  Well a disturbing event has just happened...It ran out of room.  That's right.  Due in part to Congress' passing of the $700 billion "bailout" plan, our national debt has now reached over $10 trillion.

This is what the clock looked like before:

This is what it looks like now:

The owner had to change the digital dollar sign to a one and paste a dollar symbol next to it.  The clock will likely be revamped again soon when the individual family's share goes past $100,000.

Did you know that 8 years ago, when George Bush took office, the national debt was only $5 trillion?  Not that I'm blaming George Bush.  It's Washington's fault, not just his.  But there is something very scary about a nation that doubles it's national debt every eight years.  Countries like that don't stay in the lead long economically.  When are we going to start making some changes?  Do we really have to sink into another depression first?  My thoughts...probably.

Just to give it perspective, does anyone really comprehend how large a trillion dollars is?  That number gets passed around so often that it means nothing to people anymore.  Let's consider an analogy.

If you had a 4 inch stack of $1000 bills, you'd be a millionaire.  To be a billionaire, that stack would have to tower 385ft in the air.  Want to know how tall a trillion dollars would be?

65 miles high!

Let's not fool ourselves.  $1 trillion is alot, let alone $10 trillion.  This country has got to end its glut of uncontrolled borrowing.  We're borrowing ourselves into economic ruin.

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11:54 PM, Wednesday, October 8, 2008 .. Posted by gabbie427

WOW!!! Depressing isn't it??? But have we EVER seen the National Debt go down any????

God's Blessings,
Amy Jo

Untitled Comment

7:27 AM, Thursday, October 9, 2008 .. Posted by dsw3131

I'm a conservative, so it pains me to say this, but yes. The national debt did go down for a time during Clinton's administration. I don't know if that was a result of less spending, more taxes, or if it was a hold over from some of Bush's policies.

national debt

8:51 AM, Thursday, October 9, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

In the history of the United States, has the national debt EVER been paid off?
I wonder if it ever will be? Mom