The National Debt hit $15 Trillion today. Unfunded mandates are at $116 Trillion.
After we hit $15 Trillion, I told my 17 year old daughter that as of now she owes the government $47,980.
15 trillion?
That’s only true in a highly limited sense. Our actual net public indebtedness is 10.3 trillion, the other 4.7 trillion in “trust fund” (mostly Social Security) intra-governmental “debt” is but a meaningless bookkeeping entry. We could zero-out the intra-governmental stuff tomorrow if we wanted to, without any effect whatsoever on anyone.
The real amount we currently owe is the amount of debt held “by the public” (everyone other than the US government.)
See Table III-C in the Daily Treasury Statement: (in millions)
Debt Held by the Public: 10,314,468
Intra-governmental Holdings: 4,719,139
https://www.fms.treas.gov/fmsweb/viewDTSFiles?dir=w&fname=11111500.txt
15 trillion is a nice, round smack-me-in-the-face-with-a-big-number, but 10.3 trillion is the real number that matters.
However, there’s a bigger and more important number:
63.5
That’s the percentage by which net, real debt has increased in just 34 months.
From the Daily Treasury Statement of 1-20-09, the sorry day the jug-eared, empty-suited clown took office:
Debt Held by the Public: 6,307,311
Intra-governmental Holdings: 4,319,566
https://www.fms.treas.gov/fmsweb/viewDTSFiles?dir=a&fname=09012000.txt
Looked at on a current debt basis (ignoring the 100+ trillion in unfunded liabilities,) in 34 months we have added 4.007 trillion of net, real debt held by the public.
Actual, net, real debt, the stuff that has to be paid back or rolled-over in the real world, has increased by 63.5%, from 6.307 trillion to 10.314 trillion.
The other 4.7 trillion of cumulative, faux “borrowing” of collected funds (mostly FICA taxes) that went (over decades) into the various “trust funds” (mostly Social Security) and were instantaneously borrowed back and then spent routinely as part of the unified budget just distorts the total. That’s 4.7 trillion owed by the one government pocket to another government pocket. Completely meaningless.
Those meaningless bookkeeping entries make the bogus “total” debt increase look like ONLY 41.5% over 34 months.
By way of comparison, the net, real, public debt on 6-1-01 (the first day the Daily Treasury Statement gives a public/non-public breakdown) about 4 months after Bush took office was:
Debt Held by the Public: 3,309,319
Intra-governmental Holdings: 2,361,241
https://www.fms.treas.gov/fmsweb/viewDTSFiles?dir=a&fname=01060100.pdf
It took Bush 92 months to get from 3.3 to 6.3 trillion in net, real debt. About 33 billion per month. Nasty, but not the end of the world.
It took Jug-ears just 34 months to get from 6.3 to 10.3 trillion in net, real debt. An unbelievable, horrendous and totally unsustainable 118 billion per month.
And we’re still clicking along at about that rate today and for the near future. About 4 billion PER DAY. Either Jug-ears and about a dozen Senate Democrats are retired about a year from now or we’re going to go much further than we already are into the deep doo-doo.
