You'd Be Crying Too If You Were Born $150,000 in Debt

Why is this baby crying?

$150,000 will be each person's share of the national debt in the year 2040 if present trends continue. The baby in the picture will be about 35 years old by then. I wonder how the baby will feel about being so deep in debt? Maybe a better question is, "Will the baby and everyone else have enough money to pay off their share of the national debt?"

How could the national debt be so large? Simple. The federal government spends more than it receives in taxes. And it's been living beyond its means for a long time.

The solution? Either cut government spending by 60 percent (fat chance!) or increase taxes by a factor of 2.5 (also, fat chance!).

The 300 year hypothesis: No republic in the history of the world has lasted three hundred years. The 300 year hypothesis was raised by the U.S. governments's head accountant, David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States. For the U.S. that 300-year threshold will occur in 2076. Will the U.S. still be around then?

Something must be done, but the political will to take decisive action is lacking:

In his fiscal 2006 budget request, President Bush attempted to reign in unnecessary spending by cutting or eliminating 150 government programs to save about $20 billion next year. As reserved as these cuts are within a $2.6 trillion budget, members of Congress in both parties demeaned the President’s recommendations. If this struggle is any barometer for the future of our government, the United States may not have the chance to disprove David Walker’s 300 year hypothesis.

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