Reality Time!!!

Written by David DiCrescenzo on . Posted in Op-Ed

Of late, I have been discussing and warning my readers about our '$17T’ debt and how long it would take to pay off.  It’s actually around $100T given the massive unfunded mandates, but I keep my argument simple at the $17T number so even liberals can understand it.  

As a reminder, (click for details) I have talked about paying it down by $100M a day without factoring in the interest and that it would take 468 years to pay it off at that rate, (by the way, at $1B a day, that would ONLY be 46.8 years). And again, those numbers are real math without the interest factored in. However, now for some reality!

There IS interest, a lot of it…$417B a year currently!!  Click for details.

That’s almost another half a Trillion a year over and above the average of $9.5B that we’re spending every day. Click for details. 

In 2012 alone the US Gov’t spent $3.6T; however they only took in $2.5T, which means they spent over $1T more than the total revenues; which is a sight better than the $1.5T over-spent in 2009.    

You might want to know how we can pay this off..?  Very simple, (tongue in cheek)…all we need to do is pay $1.14B a day just to cover the interest and at least another half Billion a day on the principal which would be $182.5B towards that principle balance.  It will still take decades; but if it doesn’t scare the snot out of you that we would only be paying down the principal an amount equal to less than half of the current annual interest, you may be in a coma.  

Oh yeah, before I forget, to make this pay-off work, we will need to completely stop borrowing and spending that $9.5B a day during this entire time.  The Federal Government would be forced to do what it was designed to do; provide ONLY for the defense of the nation and some basic infrastructure.  No more free anything for anyone!  Pull your own weight, or suffer the law of the jungle.

All wasteful agencies and departments would necessarily have to be shut down immediately and permanently. Energy, Education, National Endowment of the Arts, National Parks Service, and so many other un-needed departments.  Everyone would need to feel the pinch, therefore, all Executive Branch, Senators and House members, and Supreme Court Justices salaries would be cut in half.  All of their outrageous perks gone, retroactively, and no more pay and benefits for life.

We could also save a ton by turning welfare into workfare, (there are lots of public projects that needs doing) at lesser rates, and for specific lengths of time.  EBT purchases would have mega restrictions; no more high end food items such as steaks and lobsters.  Only government cheese, rice, beans, and all the powdered milk you can carry.  

Want steak and lobster and other quality foods?  Want a cell phone?  Want a nice place to live?  Want cable TV?  Want quality medical care?  Want a car?  Want anything else above minimal bare existence?  GET A JOB!

Commit EBT fraud and become a guest of the state.  Did you or your parents break into our country?  Buh bye.  

More money could be saved in the prison system.  Did you murder others while chanting “allahu ackbar?” Have you been on death row for decades attempting exhaustive appeals and draining court resources?  If you answered yes to either of those questions, get right with God because you’re about stop being a drain on public funds and meet Him.  And let’s not forget that chain gangs make a great infrastructure workforce.  Just ask Sheriff Joe Arpaio.  

There are a lot more ways to save money and spend more efficiently; I’m just getting started. 

As far as the money itself is concerned, we need to have a serious discussion as to what drives our currency. We have not been on the Gold standard since Nixon was president, and the only thing keeping our dollars viable is that they are the only payment method acceptable by OPEC for oil.  Given that none of the OPEC members are what you might call our friends, they might decide to wake up one morning and no longer accept our dollars, which will render them essentially worthless.  And by the way, if you haven’t heard the news, while I was writing this, the Saudis have decided they want to sever diplomatic ties with us.

Add to that happy scenario that very near 50% of our debt is owned by the Chi-coms…y’know, the same fun loving Chi-coms who also don’t like us a whole lot, that are building up a massive offensive military strike force apparatus which includes Aircraft Carriers, (all while we have a president that is neutering our own military at the same time) and you should be able to draw the same conclusion that I have.  

We are broke and weak, and pretty much screwed, and it is getting worse by day.  Wake up America.  We owe it to all those that came before us and have sacrificed and died, and we owe it to our children, grandchildren, and all future generations.