Richard Randall on Budget & Economy

National debt threatens long-term economic health

The long-term economic health of the United States is threatened by $53 trillion in government debts and liabilities that start to come due in four years. Legislators have promised the "Greatest Generation" and their "Baby-Boom" children benefits unprecedented in size and scope. Many leading economists say that even the world's most prosperous economy cannot fulfill these promises without a crushing increase in taxes-and perhaps not even then. To put this debt in perspective, this means that each American household owes $473,456 in government debt! This is how much money would need to be collected from each household in order to repay government debts and honor future benefits promised under Medicare, Social Security, and government pensions. And like an unpaid credit card balance accumulating interest, the problem grows by more than $1 trillion every year that action to pay down the debt is delayed. Source: Campaign website, www.lpcocandidates.org/randall/, "Issues" Oct 14, 2004

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