The Real US Financial Picture
Let's put this in terms most Americans probably won't understand, but it's worth a shot anyway. Lets apply our government's financial situation to a regular family household. The figures shown in this scenario are in direct proportion to the actual financial picture of the US federal govt.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
-You are a typical American family with two working parents and two kids.
-Your combined annual income is $25,600
-Your annual bills are $27,300 (a deficit of $1,700)
-Your total debt (mortgage, car loans, credit cards) is a whopping $91,000
-Your annual interest on the debt, without touching the principle, is $2,370
ELIMINATING THE PERSONAL INCOME TAX
...Mommy wants to stop working, become a stay at home mom and take care of the kids, eliminating 45% of the family income.
-Your annual income is now $14,000
-Your bills are still $27,300 a year (a deficit of $13,300)
-In order to balance your budget you will have to eliminate 48% of your bills
CUTTING GOVT SPENDING
By some miracle you are able to convince the family to tighten their belts. You move into a crummy apartment in a bad neighborhood. You eat Tom Ramen and Mac & Cheese for every meal and shop at the thrift stores for your kids clothing, and you are able to cut spending enough to achieve a balanced budget.
-You earn $14,000 per year
-You spend $14,000 per year
THE NATIONAL DEBT
Even though you have a balanced budget you still have a mountain of debt that is 6.5x your annual income! The only way to eliminate this is to start paying it down little by little.
-Your debt $91,000
SOCIAL SECURITY AND MEDICARE
In order to start paying down the debt you have to cut more spending. 70% of your expenses go to taking care of your dependents, providing food, shelter and medical care for your children and wife, so you don't dare touch this.
-$9,600 per year on your dependents
-$1,000 per year on other minimal operating expenses
-$3,400 to put toward paying off the debt each year
-At this rate the debt will be paid off in 38 years!
LETTING YOUNG PEOPLE OPT OUT
...Drastic restructuring occurs at your company and your hours are cut, eliminating 60% of your income
-You are now earning only $5,300 per year
-Your bills are $10,600 and you can't cut anything else
At this point, not only can you not continue paying on the debt, you can't even pay your bills. The only option is to BEGIN BORROWING AGAIN!
This is why our country is completely, and unequivocally F**KED financially, and nothing will ever change that. The time to fix this problem was 20 years ago, but you can't expect a culture who lives in perpetual debt in their personal lives to understand the financial ramifications of deficit spending by government. This country is headed toward bankruptcy. Hold on tight, because this plane is going to crash! You can bury your head in the sand, plug your ears and sing "la-la-la" if it makes you feel better, but the numbers don't lie. The best Ron Paul can do is put a band-aid on the situation and postpone the pain for a little longer. You can thank your parents and grandparents for their apathy and ignorance, and I'm sure our children will thank us for the tremendous burden we'll leave them, if this country even exists anymore
There is one way to fix this picture, but I know you guys don't want to hear it because it involves sacrifice. BIG SACRIFICE. Its not the rosy utopia painted by most libertarian idealists. It would involve
RAISING TAXES and
CUTTING SPENDING. The only way to get out of debt in your personal life is to increase your income and decrease your bills. The same thing is true for the govt. But I highly doubt people will get on board with that kind of plan.
