On January 2nd the United States government released a desperate last-minute attempt to protect the National debt- now approaching 60 trillion dollars- from breaking the debt ceiling. The sequester will cut all government programs across the board; from defense to social security.
According to BipartisanPolicy.org, the total sequester cuts go as follows- 21% in Medicare + Medicaid, 21% in Social Security, 19% in Defense Discretionary, 17% in Non-Defense Discretionary, 15% in Other, and 7% in Interest. Over 10 years, the cuts are supposed to total to 1.2 trillion dollars.
Being nearly 60 trillion dollars in debt is a bad thing, in case you didn’t know. When the French revolted in the 18th Century, their debt- when translated into modern value- was 2 trillion more than ours is now.
The Federal Reserve estimates that there, as of March 20th, 2013, is approximately 1.18 trillion dollars in circulation. That’s a fraction of our debt, so where is the rest of the 59 trillion?
They’re certainly not in the banks. As a matter of fact, the dollars you deposit into your account one day will not be there the next day. So, how do they keep up will all this endless money-flying? Computers, woo!
You deposit 50 dollars into your account, and that 50 dollars is digitalized into your account, but where does the physical money go? Well, that’s what I’m not sure of.
It puzzles me that we managed to get to 60 trillion dollars in debt when there isn’t a fraction of that in circulation- physical currency. Digitalization seems to have lead to inflation, and our politicians have been fighting for a cure since President Reagan held office.
Who is honestly to blame though? You’ll never be able to discuss it unless it’s with someone who shares your political views. Republicans will blame Obama, Democrats will blame Bush, then Republicans will blame Bill Clinton, then Democrats will blame Bush Sr. and eventually you’re arguing over why King Tutankhamun is REALLY to blame for our debt.
The sequester seems like shaving with a chainsaw. There are more effective, and given, slower, ways to fix the United States’ economic problems. But to be honest, it seems like revolt will be the only way for our economic freight train to come to a halt, or hopefully just explode and be over with.
Who knows though? Maybe if you keep digging yourself into a hole, you’ll pop out on the other side of the Earth. It doesn’t seem geologically accurate, but hey, a guy can dream can’t he?