Why are conservatives so dishonest about the national debt?
Matthew D asked:
Conservatives tout that the US national debt is an emerging crisis that will soon bankrupt the United States. What they don’t say is that a little less than half is intragovernmental debt. That is, money the US government owes itself. After WWII the US owed 120% of its GDP in public debt. At this time it only owes about 84% and that figure includes the money the government owes itself. Public debt, what money the govermenet owes others, is about 60% of GDP or half the GDP to debt ratio after WWII.
Why do conservatives try to scare people about a problem that does not exist?
Conservatives tout that the US national debt is an emerging crisis that will soon bankrupt the United States. What they don’t say is that a little less than half is intragovernmental debt. That is, money the US government owes itself. After WWII the US owed 120% of its GDP in public debt. At this time it only owes about 84% and that figure includes the money the government owes itself. Public debt, what money the govermenet owes others, is about 60% of GDP or half the GDP to debt ratio after WWII.
Why do conservatives try to scare people about a problem that does not exist?
Tags: Debt Ratio, Gdp, United States
June 24th, 2011 at 2:50 am
Because their presidents are the biggest contributors to it.
June 26th, 2011 at 11:01 pm
And they only start complaining about the debt after Obama comes into office, after eight years of skyrocketing debt with Bush.
June 27th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
answer seems obvious to me. political gain.
June 29th, 2011 at 12:42 pm
Its called politics buddy. They need votes, so they craftily manipulate the truth to convince the public to join their position. Liberals do the same exact thing on different issues as well.
June 30th, 2011 at 6:07 pm
LOL! Well…the problem is there. There are some who debate about whether or not it is more beneficial to pay it off or to just leave it alone, but that doesnt mean that the problem does not exist.
In fact, many conservatives have taken the position in the past that debt that is owed back to ourselves would be more detrimental to the economy try to pay back, as it is akin to debt that is owed between family members.
However, someone below makes the point about social security….that is debt we owe to ourselves and that is something that is going to catch up with us sooner than we think. How do you propose that we deal with THAT? Do you see that as a non issue? I dont!
Just because there is a debate as to how best to handle this type of debt, does not meant the debt is good to have (or even irrelelavant) in the first place
July 3rd, 2011 at 2:32 am
I don’t see that number dropping you head in the sand lib.
July 4th, 2011 at 4:26 pm
Reagan TRIPLED our debt from 934B to 2.6 Trillion – (189%) – an increase of 24% EVERY YEAR
Bush DOUBLED our debt from 5.7 to 10.6 trillion – (91%) – an increase of 11% EVERY YEAR
Obama would have to overspend by 23 trillion in 8 years just to equal reagans spending
Source: US Treasury Dept – Bureau of Public Debt -
July 4th, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Your messiah is sinking this country faster than the captain of titanic. We don’t have the cash he is spending. Our credit is shot.
July 5th, 2011 at 7:42 am
You forgot Obama’s actual deficit is only about $500 billion in 2009. Bush passed the stimulus in October 2008 (before Obama was elected and after the new governmental fiscal year began). Bush’s 2008 actual deficit was a staggering $1.4 trillion (1400 billion).
July 7th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
Because people always respond to hate and fear. And rarely check the facts.
July 9th, 2011 at 3:10 pm
An obligation is an obligation. Social security costs going forward will be huge, and social security taxes won’t begin to cover them.
July 9th, 2011 at 3:24 pm
they are the party which evokes fear in regular people
July 9th, 2011 at 10:30 pm
bekuz tha world has now be kame a liar…
July 11th, 2011 at 8:29 pm
to be fair the blunt ugly truth, most of the people who voted for mccain were old.
July 13th, 2011 at 6:36 am
our debt is huge,it will strangle this country,social security is unsustainable,welfare is unsustainable,the just passed health care is unsustainable,and you want to use slight of hand and say it is nothing.
July 16th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
most conservatives today, at least the ones on this site and in the public eye are total douche-bags
July 18th, 2011 at 12:00 pm
You realize that the money is still OWED right???
It has to be paid back with interest.
July 20th, 2011 at 5:45 pm
“Why do conservatives try to scare people about a problem that does not exist?”
Amazing how under Reagan and bush, the national debt and deficit was a horrible problem that needed to be solved (recall that Clinton ran on deficit reduction). Now that a Dem is in the White House, controls both houses of congress, and borrowing more money than all Presidents combined, now its “a problem that doesnt exist”
July 22nd, 2011 at 3:40 am
Hi Dirty Sanchez mustache. Still blindly hating your neighbor for having different political views I see.
July 24th, 2011 at 1:13 pm
Why did liberals make that same claim during the Bush years. And the election?
The dishonesty you are complaining about works both ways. And until people have the intellectual honesty to admit it, we are doomed to this unending cycle.
It’s all about politics and power.
And if you are going to throw stones, make sure you’re not in a glass house.
July 27th, 2011 at 2:18 pm
just because YOU can’t understand a very simple issue doesn’t mean anyone is trying to scare someone else
if national debt is “no big deal” why did the liberals scream cry and riot over national debt when Bush was in office? see how your little rant doesn’t hold water? makes you look extremely weak minded so try not doing it anymore, OK
July 28th, 2011 at 6:00 am
You leave something very important out….
The 120% was sold to the US public as bonds, so we the American people loaned our government money to fight the war.
The 60% is old data from before the economic crash and Obama’s massive spending. I expect it’s approaching 70% and so much of that is being held by the Chinese government, who could call the note and bankrupt us at any time. In the 50s, we threatened England over the Suez Cannel. If they didn’t pull over, we would call the note and bankrupt them. I don’t want to think about what would happen today if China controlled us to avoid the same. Could they force us into a war?
July 31st, 2011 at 10:21 am
They money the US owes is to itself. hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm not aware that AMERICA has a job and they pay taxes. I was under the opinion that we pay the federal government taxes etc and THEY TAKE OUR MONEY TO SPEND.
You are sorely misguided honey. They might PRINT money…but they don’t make it. It comes FROM US!
After wars there is always a huge bill to pay. But the spending this administration has done is outrageous and history making and it will take you and your children’s children and THEIR grandchildren to pay it back. BOZO has no interest in paying anything back.
HOW DO YOU THINK GREECE AND the WORLD got where we are now? NO MONEY! BANKRUPT. It can happen honey..it has before and it will happen again.
You need to go to school and learn about how much you can spend and who pays your bills. If you say YOU DO…..you are half there. GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY THIS BACK…YOU WILL!
God…children….when they get jobs and realize where their money goes they will stop asking silly questions.
August 2nd, 2011 at 5:07 pm
> You take a portion of your paycheck each week and save it to make a large tax payment due at the end of the year
> You spend ALL of that money and “replace it” with post-dated checks written to yourself.
> You don’t worry because your tax account is “full” and the post-dated checks are merely owed “to yourself.”
In EXACTLY that same way the SS and Medicare accounts are “full” of Treasury bonds the government “owes itself.”
Whether the easily available facts of our debt went over your head or you’re being dishonest about them is something only you can answer. If you’re saying to yourself “neither,” then it’s the first one.
August 3rd, 2011 at 6:14 pm
The national debt didn’t happen overnight. And it is not going to go away overnight. It was inherited from previous governments.
August 5th, 2011 at 1:59 am
Scaring people about a problem is the Saul Alinsky method. Conservatives are just not very good at it.