“No one seems to give a damn about the federal debt,” a friend and reader of Economic Prism remarked this week. “You keep bringing it up as if it actually matters to anyone.”
It was clear he had more to say, so we settled in for the conversation.
“The voters don’t seem bothered by our growing federal debt,” he continued. “They repeatedly elect the same spendthrift politicians.”
“And the politicians are well aware of this apathy. They realize that making endless promises is the key to re-election.”
“Deep down, the aging populace knows they depend on mountains of government debt to fund their social security, Medicare, and disability payments. Furthermore, many people who appear to have stable jobs are actually reliant on corporate welfare through government contracts.”
“As you know, the mechanics of this reckless debt-based fiat currency system dictate that debt must perpetually rise, or else the entire financial structure collapses. Our best-case scenario is to hope that continued currency depreciation simply results in a gradual decline in living standards.”
“But again, few outside of your readers care about federal debt. And if you plan to keep discussing it, you should really use more precise language.”
“The pace at which federal debt has grown makes standard dollar figures inadequate for conveying the reality. The numbers have reached such dizzying heights that differentiating between hundreds of billions and tens of trillions has become a challenge.”
Going Broke at Mach 30
“To gain better perspective, consider framing the debt in astronomical terms. Astronomers use light years to measure vast distances. A light year is the distance light travels in one year—around 5.87 trillion miles, excluding leap years.”
“You mentioned that since President Obama assumed office in early 2009, specifically around the time the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was enacted, the U.S. federal debt surged from $10.6 trillion to close to $20 trillion. Well, you’ve underestimated the situation.”
“In the few days following that article, did you notice the federal debt skyrocketed to over $20.1 trillion?”
“Apparently, after Congress suspended the debt ceiling last Friday, the Treasury finally disclosed the $300 billion in off-balance-sheet expenditures accumulated over the previous six months, which coincided with hitting the debt ceiling back in March. This, as Treasury Secretary Mnuchin termed it, was the use of ‘extraordinary measures’ to keep the government’s operations afloat. Sounds a bit like Enron accounting, doesn’t it?”
“In any case, during the past 104 months, the federal debt has increased by $9.5 trillion—roughly $1.1 trillion annually. This equates to a rate of increase nearly 20 percent the speed of light. Can you comprehend the magnitude?”
“If light speed doesn’t resonate, we can consider sound speed. When Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier, he hit Mach 1, which corresponds to 767 miles per hour, or 1,125 feet per second.”
“At a rate of $34,880 of new debt per second, the federal government is accumulating debt at a pace exceeding Mach 30. Things are clearly out of control!”
To Hell In A Bucket
“You might assume that accruing debt at such a rapid pace would be exhilarating. But look around. No one—certainly not the elite—is enjoying this situation.”
“Take Mark Zuckerberg, for instance. Have you seen his expression? It seems he wouldn’t recognize ‘fun’ even if it confronted him on the street.”
“Predicting how much longer this binge on government debt can persist is a challenge. However, one truth stands out: it has lasted far longer than any reasonable person could have anticipated.”
“During George W. Bush’s presidency, the federal debt doubled from $5 trillion to $10 trillion. Then, under Barack Obama, it doubled again to $20 trillion.”
“Rumors suggest that President Trump could be on track to double the federal debt once more to $40 trillion, especially if he and Chuck Schumer manage to eliminate the debt ceiling.”
“Can you fathom the economic despair we’d face with $40 trillion in federal debt? If we’re fortunate, GDP might merely stagnate. The entire system would be overwhelmed by this monumental burden. And let’s not even get started on corporate and private debts—this is a whole other topic.”
“You’re beginning to see the trajectory, aren’t you? Directly toward hell in a bucket!”
“You’d think that rampant government debt would alarm people, but it seems not. As I’ve stated before, the federal debt simply doesn’t register with the vast majority.”
“If you want to capture people’s attention through your writing, steer the conversation towards stocks like Amazon or Apple—or even cryptocurrencies. Share sensational predictions about prices doubling and then doubling again. That’s the narrative they want. So why not cater to that?”
Sincerely,
MN Gordon
for Economic Prism
