(05-30-2025, 09:51 AM)Jag149 Wrote: There predictably has  been a spotlight on the national debt. We are definitely in trouble here. Looking at our national debt, should I panic?

36.7 trillion +/-
7 trillion or about 10% is inter-government.  One department owing another.
70% is owed internally to domestic companies and individual citizens.
That leaves 20% for other governments and foreign individuals.

I have T-bills like many of you may. So the 70% is actually providing income for citizens. That money is then injected back into the economy. Kind of an odd circle there.

https://www.pgpf.org/article/the-federal...that-debt/

The 20% is still a big problem that can allow other countries to manipulate the value of our currency. And as a taxpayer it should feel bad when we give them this interest money. It's way more than any foreign aid we give.

Also, what's essentially happening with the 70% is that the lower middle class that pays income taxes but doesn't own treasuries is just transferring money back to the very wealthy who may or may not pay income taxes but own lots of T bills. And that interest income comes to them tax-free.  This is making the social problems that we try to solve with welfare worse, potentially a negative spiral.  We definitely need to reduce the deficit significantly. We need to look at Medicare and Defense spending, there is a lot of bloat and rent in both places.

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