FINDING THE DEBT SOLUTION

If you are interested in seeing the what our debt really is, click on The National Debt Clock In Real Time.

We are adding to the national debt at the rate of $5billion every day!

Presently the national debt is over $15 trillion dollars.

That's a lot of money...but how much is it really?

Most people cannot conceptualize that amount of money. How much is a trillion, anyway?

Perhaps we can find a way to express it in terms we understand. Let's think of it in terms of seconds. You know, 60 seconds in a minute, 3,600 seconds every hour, 86,400 seconds in a day, 31,536,000 every year.

So, how long ago was a million seconds ago? What's your gut estimate? One day ago? Ten days ago? One hundred days ago? A year ago?

The answer is: 12 days ago.

Well then, how long ago was a billion seconds? Was it a year ago? Maybe ten years ago or twenty.

Actually 1,000,000,000 seconds ago was thirty two (32) years ago.

That's the difference between one million and one billion.

OK. Let's consider a trillion seconds ago...how long ago was that? One hundred years? Five hundred years? More like a thousand?

One trillion seconds ago was 31,688 years ago!

Look at it another way.

If you earned $1million every day, and you started in the year 0, how many trillions would you have today?

The answer is, you wouldn't even have earned $1trillion dollars. That would take you almost another thousand years.

And the United States of America is over $15trillion in debt. It also has over $117trillion in unfunded liabilities!

So what is the answer to our debt/unfunded liabilities issue?

Tax the rich at a higher rate so we could pay it down?

Won't work. Won't even make a dimple in the polished door panel of the debt.

In fact, if you took every asset of every person making over the magic $250,000.00 floor, you would not make a significant dent in the debt. NOT A DENT!!!

The problem is you have no idea how much $15trillion is, so it seems like a few billion here and a few billion there should take care of it.

It won't. Raising taxes to make rich people "pay their fair share" will not make one iota of difference to our debt and it will continue to rise at the rate of $5billion per day or more, even if we increase taxes on the rich.

So let's try freezing spending at present levels AND making the rich pay "their fair share."

If we do that, you, your children, your grandchildren and your great grand children will all be dead before we begin to see a drop in the debt, and then it will be so slow that we'll barely notice.

What IS the answer?

First, it will take a new mind set.

Every person in America will have to be taught from Kindergarten through University that the government owes them nothing except protection from outside attackers, encouragement, an equal opportunity to succeed (not an equal outcome), and fairness under the law.

They will have to be taught that accomplishment is hard and will require them to work. They will have to understand that it is their hard work and accomplishment that will raise their self esteem, not mantra spouted by so-called "teachers."

Secondly, government will have to remove all hindrances to any person who wants to do what it takes to succeed in life in business or work. That means getting out of their way.

Stop with the reams of paperwork to start and run a business. Stop with the unreasonable fees and restrictions to their progress and success.

This will increase the number of people who succeed, the number of people who will be employed to help them succeed and thus the number of people who pay taxes.

Thirdly, government will have to institute a form of taxation that is reasonable, simple and treats everybody equally.

That can only be accomplished by a flat tax (I would suggest 11%) on every earned dollar over the "poverty" level (I would suggest $25,000.00/year), with no deductions or special treatment of any kind.

On one 4 X 8 card taxes could be figured like this:

Line 1. How much did you or your corporation earn? $50,000.00.
Line 2. Subtract $25.000.00.
Line 3, Enter the difference here: $25,000.00.
Line 4 Multiply line 3 by .11.
Line 5. Enter the prduct here: $2,750.00.  That is how much you owe in taxes.

You may pay it in 12 equal installments of $229.17 or all at once. Make your check(s) payable to the US Treasury.

Fourthly, government will have to reduce real spending.

That means "sacred cows" (yours and mine) will have to fall by the wayside. Special interest groups and lobbyists will have to be ignored and/or dismantled.

That will take guts by the politicians, a strong will on the part of the citizens and perseverance over time.

Fifthly, the government will have to learn to live within its means, no matter what.

There are other things that will have to be done, as well. Things concerning the balance of trade, the issues of goods and services from outside the country and a myriad of other important international considerations.

If we have not already reached the tipping point, we are very close.

I happen to believe that we can avoid the coming catastrophe if, and only if, we are committed enough to do what it takes.

Failure to act now will result in unintended consequences in the very near future.

Who has the courage to take the steps necessary for the survival of our nation?