My question is …..is our Donald going to squander more money on this administration than the last one?as I recall he added 23% for nothing gained on his first fiasco.I know there’s a lot of you guys and gals that know how to gather this information better than I.

1 hour ago, Tug said:

My question is …..is our Donald going to squander more money on this administration than the last one?as I recall he added 23% for nothing gained on his first fiasco.I know there’s a lot of you guys and gals that know how to gather this information better than I.

Do you really care about the large national debt? Do you know the major driver of the debt are the social programs? Do you know the social programs are 4/7's of the budget? Do you know that federal spending is at 23% of the GDP.

1 hour ago, Tug said:

My question is …..is our Donald going to squander more money on this administration than the last one?as I recall he added 23% for nothing gained on his first fiasco.I know there’s a lot of you guys and gals that know how to gather this information better than I.

Actually, one theory floating around is one reason for the war in Iran is to try to bring down the debt.

But the economics is above my pay grade.

But possible continued devaluation of the US dollar over the next 3-4 according to this theory.

1 hour ago, Tug said:

I recall he added 23% for nothing gained on his first fiasco

This is disingenuous on your part. A huge share of the spending was to prop up the economy during COVID. Also, the Democrats controlled congress during this large spending binge. You are really concerned about debt, you also need to trash Nancy Pelosi. Under her leadership the debt blew up.

When Pelosi became minority leader in 2003, the national debt stood at $6.2 trillion. When she turned over the speaker’s gavel, the national debt stood at $31.5 trillion. In other words, about 80 percent of the debt accumulated in all of U.S. history was accrued since Pelosi ascended to a leadership position in Congress.

https://fee.org/articles/nancy-pelosi-s-other-legacy-a-mountain-of-debt-for-our-children/

4 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

But the economics is above my pay grade.

That's obvious.

1 hour ago, TedG said:

That's obvious.

yeah like you understand everything thats going on.

14 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

yeah like you understand everything thats going on.

Starting a war will not bring down the debt.

1 hour ago, TedG said:

This is disingenuous on your part. A huge share of the spending was to prop up the economy during COVID. Also, the Democrats controlled congress during this large spending binge. You are really concerned about debt, you also need to trash Nancy Pelosi. Under her leadership the debt blew up.

When Pelosi became minority leader in 2003, the national debt stood at $6.2 trillion. When she turned over the speaker’s gavel, the national debt stood at $31.5 trillion. In other words, about 80 percent of the debt accumulated in all of U.S. history was accrued since Pelosi ascended to a leadership position in Congress.

https://fee.org/articles/nancy-pelosi-s-other-legacy-a-mountain-of-debt-for-our-children/

You should check the data before reposting the propaganda fed to you!

The GOP has been in control of the House for 14 years in total, during this 22 years period of time! 🤣🤣🤣

4 minutes ago, TedG said:

Starting a war will not bring down the debt.

depends what type of war.

not if it lasts for years with troops on the ground.

8 minutes ago, candide said:

You should check the data before reposting the propaganda fed to you!

The GOP has been in control of the House for 14 years in total, during this 22 years period of time! 🤣🤣🤣

You are not making the case of why the link is wrong. Explain yourself with real data.

1 hour ago, TedG said:

Do you really care about the large national debt? Do you know the major driver of the debt are the social programs? Do you know the social programs are 4/7's of the budget? Do you know that federal spending is at 23% of the GDP.

Defense spending is one of the highest debt drivers. The main drivers of national debt are persistent structural imbalances between low tax revenues and high spending, compounded by an aging population, rising healthcare costs, and increasing interest payments. Key spending areas include mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare, alongside discretionary spending on defense and national emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

14 minutes ago, Purdey said:

Defense spending is one of the highest debt drivers. The main drivers of national debt are persistent structural imbalances between low tax revenues and high spending, compounded by an aging population, rising healthcare costs, and increasing interest payments. Key spending areas include mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare, alongside discretionary spending on defense and national emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

14 minutes ago, Purdey said:

Defense spending is one of the highest debt drivers. The main drivers of national debt are persistent structural imbalances between low tax revenues and high spending, compounded by an aging population, rising healthcare costs, and increasing interest payments. Key spending areas include mandatory programs like Social Security and Medicare, alongside discretionary spending on defense and national emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Defense spending is 1/7 of the federal budget vs 4/7s of the federal budget devoted to social programs.

24 minutes ago, TedG said:

You are not making the case of why the link is wrong. Explain yourself with real data.

My bad. I did not read the full article. Only what you quoted. 😀

So the fact that the GOP has been in control of the House for more time than the Dems during this period of time doesn't actually contradict the content of the article, as it clearly mentions that the whole debt increase cannot be attributed to her.

Here's the part you 'forgot' to quote:

This does not mean, of course, that Pelosi is solely responsible for the debt crisis facing the United States. The list of those who deserve blame is long, and it includes members of both major political parties.

5 minutes ago, candide said:

My bad. I did not read the full article. Only what you quoted. 😀

So the fact that the GOP has been in control of the House for more time than the Dems during this period of time doesn't actually contradict the content of the article, as it clearly mentions that the whole debt increase cannot be attributed to her.

Here's the part you 'forgot' to quote:

This does not mean, of course, that Pelosi is solely responsible for the debt crisis facing the United States. The list of those who deserve blame is long, and it includes members of both major political parties.

Do you know why spending is a an unsustainable 23% of the GDP?

10 minutes ago, TedG said:

Do you know why spending is a an unsustainable 23% of the GDP?

I know that you tried to put the blame on Pelosi, while the GOP was in control of the House for more time than the Dems during this period of time, and that you are now trying to deflect from it! 😄

1 minute ago, candide said:

I know that you tried to put the blame on Pelosi, while the GOP was in control of the House for more time than the Dems during this period of time, and that you are now trying to deflect from it! 😄

What programs are blowing up the federal budget?

8 minutes ago, TedG said:

What programs are blowing up the federal budget?

Difficult question, as some of the social programs (mainly Social Security and Medicare) are at least partly financed by contributions (mainly payroll taxes). I must admit I am to lazy to calculate the real cost (expenses-contributions). Do you have time to do it?

1 minute ago, candide said:

Difficult question, as some of the social programs (mainly Social Security and Medicare) are at least partly financed by contributions (mainly payroll taxes). I must admit I am to lazy to calculate the real cost (expenses-contributions). Do you have time to do it?

The largest driver of the growing budget is the social program. The issue with SS/Medicare is the ratio of people paying into the system vs receiving benefits. In 1960, the ratio was 5:1; now it's 2.7:1. The average SS payout is $24,852/year. Which means the people paying into SS are paying $9,024/year to support retirees. Then add in Medicare, which is about $15,000 per person per year. $15,000/2.7 =$5,555.56. Which means the taxpayer is paying a significant amount to support retirees. In reality, these programs are cash flow negative.

This is nothing but an intergenerational wealth transfer.

4 hours ago, Tug said:

My question is …..is our Donald going to squander more money on this administration than the last one?as I recall he added 23% for nothing gained on his first fiasco.I know there’s a lot of you guys and gals that know how to gather this information better than I.

The US national debt requires $1 trillion just to service the interest payments. It;s now 3.3% of GDP. It's projected to hit 4.6% by 2036.

That money should be used for new infrastructure, education and healthcare. Instead, it's an albatross around the neck of the American economy.

All politicians can do is kick the can down the road.

5 minutes ago, TedG said:

The largest driver of the growing budget is the social program. The issue with SS/Medicare is the ratio of people paying into the system vs receiving benefits. In 1960, the ratio was 5:1; now it's 2.7:1. The average SS payout is $24,852/year. Which means the people paying into SS are paying $9,024/year to support retirees. Then add in Medicare, which is about $15,000 per person per year. $15,000/2.7 =$5,555.56. Which means the taxpayer is paying a significant amount to support retirees. In reality, these programs are cash flow negative.

This is nothing but an intergenerational wealth transfer.

I know. I wrote in my post that they were only partly funded by contributions. My point is that it's not only the expenses which should be considered, but expenses minus contributions. A contribution to an insurance is not the same as a plain tax, as people get some of their expenses covered, even if benefits are in large part delayed (after they retire). So only federal subsidies matter.