I'll take "What is $4.8 TRILLION?" for 200 Alex

[no1_vern]

The amount INTEREST ALONE that the USA owes;

Quote:

$4.8 trillion - Interest on U.S. debt
Unless lawmakers make big changes, the interest Americans will have to pay to keep the country running over the next decade will reach unheard of levels.

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Last Updated: November 19, 2009: 1:05 PM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Here's a new way to think about the U.S. government's epic borrowing: More than half of the $9 trillion in debt that Uncle Sam is expected to build up over the next decade will be interest.

More than half. In fact, $4.8 trillion.

If that's hard to grasp, here's another way to look at why that's a problem.

In 2015 alone, the estimated interest due - $533 billion - is equal to a third of the federal income taxes expected to be paid that year, said Charles Konigsberg, chief budget counsel of the Concord Coalition, a deficit watchdog group.

[osprey4]

I've got the solution!!

Levy a 90% tax on interest collected from the government.

[tony_j15]

Better solution:
Borrow from China
Create incident with China
Go to war with China
Victory, declare all U.S. debt null and void.
Profit for the military/industrial complex!!!

[The Real Bingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony_j15

Better solution:
Borrow from China
Create incident with China
Go to war with China
Victory, declare all U.S. debt null and void.
Profit for the military/industrial complex!!!

That actually sounds like a horrible solution. And let's not forget that China isn't our only creditor.

[tony_j15]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Real Bingo

That actually sounds like a horrible solution.

Well, so did invading Iraq, but that kept the economy chugging until '08.


Who owns the debt?

[no1_vern]

We can only tax Americans and American corporations. Since China and other countries hold almost all of our debt, what do you think the chances are of our getting ANY money back through taxation?

[The Real Bingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony_j15

Well, so did invading Iraq, but that kept the economy chugging until '08.


Who owns the debt?

What it did was get a lot of business for defense contractors and security contractors. Who would've thought that, in a war, we'd have private companies contracted to protect bases, assets and people? Ridiculous, and all by design. The war did nothing for our economy as a whole because we're not driven by manufacturing. Sure Boeing and Northrop-Grumman and Lockheed-Martin and all the other weapons and systems makers did fine, but that's just a sliver of the pie. And a war of such a small scale won't have much of an impact anyway...hey, maybe you're onto something with a Chinese invasion - 500,000 troops or more...lots of stuff to make.