With all this budget crisis talk, I thought I would dig up some figures and put them in perspective. Keep in mind, the federal government hasn't had a balanced budget since the 1990s. And, even then, it was only the annual budget that was balanced. Politicians like to leave out the fact that we still owed government debt holders trillions of dollars, due to annual deficits for the past century. So, this was not done by just the Democrats or only the Republicans. It was done by everybody, and we essentially borrowed from our future. Now, the major debt holders include countries, like China. Awesome.
On to the figures. Now, realize that even if by some miracle our elected leaders could come together and balance one annual budget, our nation still would not have begun to chip away at this massive obligation. Nonetheless, stopping the bleeding would be the first step.
$13,681,244,991,894 Total Debt, 2010
308,745,538 Population, 2010 Census
If my math is correct, that is approximately $44,312 per US citizen. This seems plausible, since I hear the deficit is now about equal to GDP. Who is ready to send their check for the Federal Government $44,312 Bailout? We have two kids, so I guess my portion would be $177,248. Ouch. What exactly did we get in the past for this future obligation? I hope it was swell!
http://blogs.office.com/b/microsoft-excel/archive/2011/03/17/america-s-debt-get-the-facts.aspx
http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/
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ReplyDeleteYou used the census data which usually accounts for "persons" living here not just citizens...how are you using the statistic? Just a logistical issue; however, the substance of what you are saying is astounding to those who don't know. I believe all three of us probably had an idea, but not the dollar amount, of just how bad the debt really is. Also, after thinking about it, if the number you used was all of the inhabitants and not citizens...then we are REALLY in trouble. All the citizens anyway...
ReplyDeleteI see your point about citizens vs. people living here. But, like you said, the number of citizens would obviously be less, which would push the amount per "citizen" even higher!
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, at least one of the rating agencies has issued a warning on the United States debt rating. Considering the fact that these same rating agencies didn't downgrade CDOs during the housing bubble, this move is a bit scary! I sure hope the government is listening!