Grim milestone: National debt now tops … $12 trillion
posted at 8:11 pm on November 17, 2009 by Allahpundit
I remember watching that townhall The One held in China the other night and thinking, “This isn’t a townhall. This is a guy with a giant mortgage stopping by the bank to say hi.” Now, after reading this, I’m thinking: I hope he brought fruit baskets.
What better time for a giant new federal health-care entitlement?
Technically, the debt hit the new high yesterday, but it was posted on the Treasury Department website just after 3:00 p.m. ET today. The exact calculation of the debt is a 16-digit tongue-twister and red-ink tsunami: $12,031,299,186,290.07
This latest milestone in the ever-rising journey of the National Debt comes less than eight months after it hit $11 trillion for the first time. The latest high-point is not unexpected, considering the federal deficit for the just-ended 2009 fiscal year hit an all-time high at $1.42-trillion – more than triple the previous year’s record high…
But the White House budget review issued in August projects that by the end of the current fiscal year on Sept 30th, the National Debt could top $14 trillion.
It gets worse. The same document projects that by the end of the decade, the National Debt will hit $24.5 trillion — exceeding the Gross Domestic Product projected for 2019 of $22.8 trillion.
You may, if you wish, follow the link to learn how much you and your kids each individually owe, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it. Instead, read this nifty catch by James Pethokoukis of murmurs within the administration about repealing the Bush tax cuts — all the Bush tax cuts, not just the income and capital gains cuts that Obama’s already talked about repealing. Exit question: How soon before we start seeing “funemployment”-type media spin about the national debt? Coming soon to Time: “Will Owing Tens of Thousands of Dollars Apiece Help Motivate Americans at Work?”
Blowback
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A+
Jeff2161 on November 17, 2009 at 9:07 PM
I figured that’s what you meant and should have made that clearer. And the one you plucked is amazingly stupid, for what it’s worth.
BadgerHawk on November 17, 2009 at 9:07 PM
Is it because of the compounding interest on it?
BadgerHawk on November 17, 2009 at 9:08 PM
Unavoidable now. When they print more money the money worth less. There is no way to spin that. It just is. If they printed enough to cover even half the 12 Trillion dollar debt, you’d get a hernia carrying enough cash to the store to buy bread and milk, if there was any bread and milk to buy; which there won’t be, because no one will work to earn money that is worthless. .
MikeA on November 17, 2009 at 9:08 PM
$12,031,299,186,290.07
4′s and 5′s are underrepresented here…Numerists!
Jeff2161 on November 17, 2009 at 9:09 PM
When I look at the deficit, my blood literally boils. No woman of good financial sense can look on stoically when the imbecile in chief spent 11 trillion dollars in just one year. Moron in chief needs to be impeached and taught such a lesson that he does not think ever again of abusing the public’s trust. I would be glad if we can just rent this imbecile for the next four years around the world while paying for this MONSTROUS SOUL SUCKING debt. Who knows, we might get be able to get a tax cut with a little help from ACORN.
nyx on November 17, 2009 at 9:10 PM
It’s the scary attempt to be precise. Like the 42.38 jobs created or saved in one district.
Jeff2161 on November 17, 2009 at 9:11 PM
Two more things bad happened to Obama this week:
WWII in HD on History Channel, which tells what our parents fought for and how hard they fought against tyranny. And which the libs in general and especially those posting here deny, devalue, and denigrate.
Second is The Prisoner on AMC, an allegory of what Obowmao, Dems, and all other libs hope for the rest of us.
See both and decide for yourselves, on top of what’s going on today under this regime.
Liam on November 17, 2009 at 9:12 PM
First…
Then…
Moral of the story…
Seven Percent Solution on November 17, 2009 at 9:13 PM
Step right up and ride the debt roller coaster!!! It has the steepest vertical drop in the WORLD!!! That is…if it will stop going up vertically. Anyway, $20.00 to ride and thats not including seat belts…that’s an extra $10.00.
FontanaConservative on November 17, 2009 at 9:14 PM
You notice they’re planning on creating $2 trillion of new debt this year?
At this pace, Obama will easily create more debt in 3 years than Bush did in 8.
Hey Bleeds Blue, why don’t you come here and spin that one for us.
Chuck Schick on November 17, 2009 at 9:16 PM
Any bets on how long it’ll be before the next round of bank runs and currency collapse hits?
Dark-Star on November 17, 2009 at 9:17 PM
Yeah and those were in one of those non-existant districts!
cjk on November 17, 2009 at 9:19 PM
How can they spend money that doesn’t exist? At the rate they are going, they are going to run out of trillions by 2010.
nyx on November 17, 2009 at 9:20 PM
That’s the whole point of the Federal Reserve system.
flyfisher on November 17, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Oh, they can prop it up for awhile…Every other currency is being devalued too. That’s why oil and gold are up. Dollar is down. Same with the stock market, it’s showing the devaluation in real time.
Jeff2161 on November 17, 2009 at 9:21 PM
Thanks. I would have used that answer to a “who” question, but you’re right: it works equally well with the “what.”
notropis on November 17, 2009 at 9:23 PM
Odd sometimes how threads are linked accidentally, such as this one and the one in the headlines about gun ownership.
Times might get a bit desperate and the people right along with them; if you don’t have a gun yet, go tomorrow and get one.
Bishop on November 17, 2009 at 9:23 PM
No offense to anyone, but all the light-hearted sarcasm on here is starting to make my head pound. This is so f*cking serious and I’m afraid we’re all gonna be living in a 3rd world country before we realize what’s happened. I guess I should lighten up, but this really scares the sh*t out of me and makes me wonder if my kids will even know a taste of freedom five years from now. I am angrier than I have ever been in my life. This mfer BHO and his ilk are evil, plain and simple.
noworldcitizen on November 17, 2009 at 9:24 PM
I think what you call “light-hearted sarcasm” is more like gallows humor, and we here who are commenting are pretty much aware that we’re headed for Ecuador status (that’s Venezuela without the oil exports.)
notropis on November 17, 2009 at 9:27 PM
I dont think even Carter was this bad. He was just stupid. President O is pure evil.
nyx on November 17, 2009 at 9:28 PM
+100 WWII in HD…It is excellent.
d1carter on November 17, 2009 at 9:31 PM
Yall shudup. Obama sed the receshin is oveh.
leftnomore on November 17, 2009 at 9:34 PM
No offense to anyone, but all the light-hearted sarcasm on
This will all surely end up in blood eventually.
cjk on November 17, 2009 at 9:41 PM
“A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you are talking about some real money”.
Johan Klaus on November 17, 2009 at 9:43 PM
Inflation, you know.
Johan Klaus on November 17, 2009 at 9:48 PM
my head hurts….UGH!
—-
have they blamed Bush yet?
cmsinaz on November 17, 2009 at 9:51 PM
I think it’s fair to say Dubya at least gets an “assist” when the record books of our economic transition into third-world ruin are written.
Not that he could pull off such mass destruction with the sheer ease and arrogance of an Osama Obama, but he showed that our corrupt Congress and a few ex-Wall Street thieves (anyone seen Hank Paulson lately?) didn’t have to take a back seat to anyone when it comes to writing checks using other people’s money.
MrScribbler on November 17, 2009 at 9:56 PM
What dipshyt is projecting 22.8T GDP in 10 years?
That’s something like an average of 5-6% growth each year. And no more recessions for a decade?
lol
BPD on November 17, 2009 at 10:00 PM
Not to mention the Treasury pushing Congress to increase the debt ceiling. Does anybody notice anything here? Possibly the push for economic collapse?
Since the inception of the Fed, the banksters via the Treasury have consistently pushed us towards a debt induced collapse.
Welcome brave new world.
True_King on November 17, 2009 at 10:01 PM
IS this what Skittles from a Unicorn’s ass tastes like?
jukin on November 17, 2009 at 10:12 PM
Also the reason we went off the gold and silver standards. Many economic simpletons will rant about how tying one’s money to precious metals can limit growth, but that was exactly the point – it imposed a natural limit. No government can just toddle off and print valuable metals or gems or whatever…but paper money backed by promises is another matter.
Dark-Star on November 17, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Either that, or hyperinflation. If the dollar loses 20% in value every year for a few years, the same effect will be had on “revenues” as would happen with a 5-6% growth rate for our economy.
notropis on November 17, 2009 at 10:19 PM
Who knew that giving the keys to the kingdom to the Democrats in Congress and the most liberal voting Senator in the history of the US would cause all of this?
HAnthonyWayne on November 17, 2009 at 10:26 PM
I’m sarcastic because I don’t have any real control over the topics being discussed. Being sarcastic is a way to vent. I could just scream in frustration but that would just leave me angry.
BadgerHawk on November 17, 2009 at 10:28 PM
Never mind that seizing every penny earned by every worker won’t eliminate the debt (3rd-quarter annualized personal income was pegged by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at $11.956 trillion). Never mind that the debt is rapidly approaching 90% of GDP. Never mind that a lot of that $3 trillion the CBO claims will come will vanish into the ether. Never mind that PlaceboCare will make the static version of that increase $4 trillion, making it even more likely that the cash goes into the ether.
steveegg on November 17, 2009 at 10:41 PM
Grim
milestonemillstone.Fixed it for you.
rlyle on November 17, 2009 at 10:43 PM
inherited
DamnYankee on November 17, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Why would bush do such a thing? He must hate his country and everyone in it.
Grafted on November 17, 2009 at 11:46 PM
maybe those were the acorn districts, a new way to fund corruption>
workingforpigs on November 17, 2009 at 11:49 PM
All you need to know:
Subsection (b) of section 3101 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by striking out the dollar limitation contained in such subsection and inserting `$12,104,000,000,000′.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5 §1604).
They’ll be breaking the law soon enough, not like anyone really will take notice or care…
SkinnerVic on November 17, 2009 at 11:56 PM
Think of the people you’ve been keeping alive with all that money.
Kralizec on November 18, 2009 at 12:19 AM
So when does th U.S. collapse like the former Soviet Union did?
Seriously, how much longer does this nation have?
Yakko77 on November 18, 2009 at 3:21 AM
Milestone? Or millstone?
petunia on November 18, 2009 at 3:34 AM
Seriously, at some point this becomes ludicrous and it all comes falling down. Obama seems intent on destroying this country. Why?
Theophile on November 18, 2009 at 4:09 AM
O.k…
What they need to do is to simply shut down all non-essential services until they can keep it under that $12.140 Trillion cap. Seriously. Some Senator simply needs to force them to read _everything_ in it’s entirety so that they can no longer pass any legislation.
Shut down all of it.
This has been unsustainable for a long time, but lately, it’s like Thelma and Louise driving off the cliff so that they are not caught by the law. It’s crazy and it’s suicide.
Theophile on November 18, 2009 at 4:12 AM
Nope. In keeping with the “unemployment is patriotic (and fun!)” meme, we’re going to begin reading about “Smilestones”
ya2daup on November 18, 2009 at 6:00 AM
You have to be kidding me…
Obama: Too much debt could fuel double-dip recession
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN188108620091118
And the dumbasses will think that he is the first one to be concerned about this as he piles on more and more debt….
drjohn on November 18, 2009 at 7:14 AM
Obama will start cutting the budget….Defense first, then all the intel services, to include NSA, then he’ll go after the GS corps…too many GS-12′s through 15′s, and the SES’s will go to…except for those in the White House.
At the end of the day, Obama can then say he cut government. Saved billions.
Of course, all that will be left are a few dozen million service workers…bureaucrats, members of SEIU, and so forth, who are the drones of the new empire.
coldwarrior on November 18, 2009 at 7:42 AM
But this is good debt, stupid-heads!
Unlike that Bush debt, ‘cos that was bad debt.
See?
Track-A-'Crat on November 18, 2009 at 8:36 AM
I’m about to start a new job with a six-figure salary. I read things like this and wonder why I even bother. All it is going to get me is more taxes, denigration by my government, no help with college costs for my kids, and skyrocketing health insurance costs.
rockmom on November 18, 2009 at 8:37 AM
Not often does the world get to witness a US president whos qualities are ignorance, corniness, phonyness, sillyness all wrapped into one package.
Ladys and gentlemen may I present the Joker……..
bluegrass on November 18, 2009 at 8:55 AM
I know. I know.
Let’s up the tax rate to 110% for everybody. Then the govt will have so much money that it can eliminate the debt and still have enough left over to buy everyone a unicorn.
MarkTheGreat on November 18, 2009 at 8:55 AM
Wouldn’t it be cheaper to have us all work for the government, and have all the government employees take our jobs?
right2bright on November 18, 2009 at 9:00 AM
MarkTheGreat on November 18, 2009 at 9:06 AM
And obviously, the only solution is to jack up taxes, since the OMB assures us that taxes have no impact on the economy.
/sarc
MarkTheGreat on November 18, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Obama’s turning the U.S. economy into an incompetently functioning entity that replicates himself.
Cybergeezer on November 18, 2009 at 9:10 AM
And since we won’t need all those tanks, air craft carriers, nuclear weapons, etc. any more, we can just sell them to China, Iran, N. Korea, etc.
MarkTheGreat on November 18, 2009 at 9:11 AM
unclesmrgol on November 18, 2009 at 9:13 AM
American exceptionalism.
“The United States is the greatest debtor nation in the history of the world.”
–Jim Rogers
Celente forecasts the USSA could easily break up like the former Soviet Union (see the secessionist movements), and could “look radically different” in 20 years.
Martin Armstrong calculates that real political change (as opposed to Barack “lots more of the same” Obama) will come in 2012 in the form of a third party, as does Celente.
Rae on November 18, 2009 at 10:09 AM
Did I miss something here when I read this ?
CbR on November 18, 2009 at 1:44 PM
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