BORROWED WISDOM

 We speak about the United States' National Debt in terms of trillions of dollars.  It is in general terms, the amount of money the country owes to people, corporations and other countries (all holders of securities guaranteed by our government).  

We tend  to lay the responsibility for increases in that debt to specific occurrences and to Presidential administration.  It rose greatly during World War I; coming out of the Great Depression; during World War II; during the Gulf Wars; and coming out of  the Great Recession of 2008.  You could look at the same events and lay it on the administration in power; the Woodrow Wilson; the Franklin Roosevelt; the Bush-Carter-Bush; the Obama-Trump administrations.  

What is missing in this analysis is the fact that our government has the ability to force greater debt in the future.  The Biden Administration, it is estimated, has implemented policies and future spending obligations such that another $19 trillion will be added to the debt in the next 17 years.  

What have we done?  

Can it be changed, lowered or arrested? 

Probably not!  

We are spending ourselves into the poorhouse.  Sometime after I'm gone, we will cease to be the primary power in the world and maybe much worse.