The United States National Debt is getting close to $12 trillion. Amazingly, this is over $100,000 per taxpayer, and close to $40,000 for every citizen. The rate at which our national debt is growing has increased quite a bit thanks to government stimulus programs, bailout programs, welfare programs, and a bunch of other programs.
We all know the Chinese are big buyers of our debt. I’m forever thankful to them for accepting such low interest payments, but I can only hope that someday we will be able to pay them back and finally close down this massive debt of ours. Of course we all know it’s just going to keep growing until investors stop buying government bonds.
But, if you’re feeling like the ultimate patriot, you can actually give the government money. That’s right, on top of the taxes you pay every year, you can make a tax deductible donation to help settle the debt the government owes. What blows my mind is people actually do this. They got one donation of $3.5 million in 1993 but most people that are dumb enough to do this only do a hundred bucks or so.
Perhaps the amount of donations made could serve as a metric for how people support government spending. Total donations in (fiscal) 2009 totaled $3 million, compared to $21 million back in 1994.
Of course anyone that would donate to such a cause is a complete idiot. If your friend who spends more than she makes is given $10,000 from a random donor, do you think she’s going to use it to settle debts? No, it’s an excuse to spend $10,000 more. If you’re considering donating money to the US government, DON’T. You won’t help anything. Instead donate it to a lobbying group that is against spending or some charity that will use the funds.
Finally, I wanted to use this opportunity to also show you a really cool website that compiles a bunch of statistics on debt. In addition to have many government counters of national debt, social security, and defense spending, USDebtClock.org has government bailouts (declining), personal savings, credit card debt, and a bunch more. Make sure you check it out, it’s fun to watch.
So tell me, what’s a better use of donations sent in to settle national debt?
Photo: woodleywonderworks
 By The Weakonomist |
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Good article weakonomist, I always find it interesting to hear about the US National Debt. Do you think it’s every going to be paid back? And how large can it actually get?
Over here in Australia there’s been a really good show playing on TV called ‘Addicted to Money’. It’s a current show made here (I think) showing how we got into the current financial crisis, and just how deep it all goes. The guy who made it has also predicted that this is just the beginning of much bigger financial shocks to happen, and he even talked about the US going bankrupt.
It’s a 3-part series, I think you’d really enjoy it. If you want I could upload to a site sometime or mail you over a copy.
Here’s what it’s all about:
http://www.addictedtomoney.com.au/?page_id=5