Why is America broke? NASA can't pay for a mission to Mars anymore?

[Edu]

NASA is now asking help from Russia and Europe so they can send a mission to Mars?

WHY ARE WE BROKE?

Then someone actually told me that the Federal Reserve pays the treasury back all that interest WE PAY on the debt, minus some small operating costs.

So this guy thinks that all the FOREIGN member banks that own the Fed actually don't get that interest? Are people really that stupid?

Anyone with a brain can see that if you owe most or all of your GDP to bankers, you are broke and somehow the banksters have stolen all your wealth over many generations.

Parents are not leaving their kids an inheritance. Why? They usually left a PAID FOR HOUSE behind.

Not anymore, the banks own all the houses, FOREVER! Because you try to work all your life and pay off that mortgage, but then they inflate the dollar and STEAL THAT WEALTH so you can never really pay off that house.

Nice little system, FOR THE BANKSTERS!

And the ponzi scheme continues as they keep propping it up to keep stealing your wealth as long as possible.

The President ain't talking about this. None of the GOP are, except one pesky TOTALLY HONEST one.

"Mars summit set between NASA, ESA and Russia"
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n1111/30marsprogram/

 

[Zippyjuan]

Then someone actually told me that the Federal Reserve pays the treasury back all that interest WE PAY on the debt, minus some small operating costs.

So this guy thinks that all the FOREIGN member banks that own the Fed actually don't get that interest? Are people really that stupid?

This is true. The Federal Reserve does receive interest payments on the govenment debt they own (US Treasury notes). They also receive income from other sources (such as interest charged on loans to member banks or from other securities they own or from charges for services they offer like check processing). At the end of the year, the Fed returns all their profits (after their expenses) to the US Treasury. Last year, their profits came to $81.7 billion (a record) and turned &79.3 billion over to the Treasury.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/22/us-usa-fed-profits-idUSTRE72L6D320110322

WASHINGTON | Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:44pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve earned a record $81.7 billion in 2010, largely on investments made to help the economy and banks weather the 2007-2009 financial crisis, and turned the bulk of it over to the U.S. Treasury.

According to audited financial statements, the U.S. central bank transferred $79.3 billion to Treasury's coffers last year, up from $47.4 billion in 2009 and a record turnover for a second straight year.

So this guy thinks that all the FOREIGN member banks that own the Fed actually don't get that interest? Are people really that stupid?

The Fed is not owned by foreign banks. Bank "owners" are member banks who are required to purchase stock shares (basically membership dues) to become members of the Fed. These shares are not normal stock shares- they cannot be resold and they carry no voting rights or other powers- they merely give the member banks access to Fed services. The member banks do not get a share of the interest or profits the Fed generates but instead are paid a "dividend" of six percent based on the purchase price of the "stock shares" they bought as a condition of becoming a Federal Reserve member bank.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Reserve_Bank

The Federal Reserve Banks issue shares of stock to member banks. However, owning Federal Reserve Bank stock is quite different from owning stock in a private company. The Federal Reserve Banks are not operated for profit, and ownership of a certain amount of stock is, by law, a condition of membership in the system. The stock may not be sold or traded or pledged as security for a loan; dividends are, by law, limited to 6% per year.[4]

The dividends paid to member banks are considered partial compensation for the lack of interest paid on member banks' required reserves held at the Federal Reserve. By law, banks in the United States must maintain fractional reserves, most of which are kept on account at the Federal Reserve. Historically, the Federal Reserve did not pay interest on these funds. The Federal Reserve now has authority, granted by Congress in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) of 2008, to pay interest on these funds.

It is true that the US government debt is now as big as (actually recently passed it) the size of the US GDP which is not a good thing. The government itself is oddly the biggest holder of US debt with the vast majority held by the department of Social Security. Another big chunk is in government employee retirement plans- govenment share is about 47% of total US debt. The Federal Reserve holds $1.7 trillion or about eleven percent of total debt.

Chart of who owns what:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt

 

[specsaregood]

Not anymore, the banks own all the houses, FOREVER! Because you try to work all your life and pay off that mortgage, but then they inflate the dollar and STEAL THAT WEALTH so you can never really pay off that house.

If you have a fixed low interest rate, shouldnt inflating the dollar help you pay the mortage off quicker?

 

[Zippyjuan]

If you have a fixed low interest rate, shouldnt inflating the dollar help you pay the mortage off quicker?

Only if your income is rising quickly. The dollar amount of your mortgage isn't changing so if your income isn't changing either then you can't pay it off any more quickly.

 

[specsaregood]

Only if your income is rising quickly. The dollar amount of your mortgage isn't changing so if your income isn't changing either then you can't pay it off any more quickly.

Well true enough, or if you invested in assets that rise with inflation.

 

[fisharmor]

They're so broke they couldn't afford a concept artist who could put in some shading.

To hell with NASA. Mars isn't going anywhere. We have, like, at the very least, the same amount of time man has been recording history left to study Mars.

 

[Stupified]

They're so broke they couldn't afford a concept artist who could put in some shading.

To hell with NASA. Mars isn't going anywhere. We have, like, at the very least, the same amount of time man has been recording history left to study Mars.

So we're automatically guaranteed the future simply because of the past?

I agree though. NASA should be completely privatized and separated from any government. Actually, it should be broken up into separate entities before privatization, thus ensuring competition and innovation.

 

[Rothbardian Girl]

So we're automatically guaranteed the future simply because of the past?

I agree though. NASA should be completely privatized and separated from any government. Actually, it should be broken up into separate entities before privatization, thus ensuring competition and innovation.

I don't really see how there is a profit motive involved in the things that NASA does, so I doubt its functions would be taken over by private companies anytime soon. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because I do like astronomy, but I don't see it as vital.

 

[Demigod]

I think its not as much about money as it is about technology.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

I don't really see how there is a profit motive involved in the things that NASA does, so I doubt its functions would be taken over by private companies anytime soon. Not that there's anything wrong with that, because I do like astronomy, but I don't see it as vital.

Finding habitable places to create prison camps on? (there's going to be a need for more room as just about everything is becoming a crime)