Should the U.S. have no debt?

About the gov

So recent events got me thinking, should we strive to only spend what revenues we get through taxes and stuff or is it okay to spend more then that.

Why or why not?

Only spend what we have or is it okay to go over that amount.

Is it our responsibility to spend within our means or not

Anyway discuss

Deficit spending should always be an option for any government. Without it, recessions would become significantly longer, more severe and more difficult to overcome. The obsession with balanced budgets that people have is ill-conceived and leads to poor fiscal policy in times of crisis.

I don't think there's ever been a time in this nation's history where it hasn't had debt.

/end thread

Gee whiz this thread was definitely thought through before pressing Submit.

If we kept with Clinton's policies, we'd be debt-free right now. Alas, 'twasn't meant to be.

Yes, but it seems that America is too fancy too be cheap.. so no I guess.

Deficit spending should be allowed but in a controlled fashion. There will come a time when the U.S. debt will become simply unmanageable. Then it will be a very serious problem. We should attempt to get spending under control as best we can, and then if we have to deficit spend we deficit spend. As it is now the government just spends whatever without regard to future integrity of the U.S. dollar.

Right now it stands at $17 trillion dollars in debt with a debt to GDP ratio of well over 100% with no end in sight. According to many on this board we should continue borrowing and spending because there isn't a reason to stop it or get it under control.

Andrew Jackson's presidential term.

Well they have a point. A debt is something you pay, and as far as I know no one can make America pay it's debt.

Realistically Russia would be destroyed, and China won't attack the United States because if it does it economic suicide.

The U.S. pay interest on our loans every month. We are obligated to pay those rates. The higher the debt the more interest we have to pay. If we stop paying that we stop receiving loans. So the higher our debt becomes the more our interest payments go which increases our debt. We've entered a very bad cycle and honestly we may almost be to the point of no return.

Interest rates for US govt debt are lower then the rate of inflation...

People are buying US bonds knowing they will lose money, just because it is a safe place to park their money

Yah.

Edit: I mean no...lol. Easily confused.

agreed, in times of hardship for a country does anyone really believe that we should ease up or stop helping the less fortunate? Or should we only help them when there is less of them to help?

While having some debt is OK, the amount of debt the US currently has is more than what should be allowed and upping the limit without any way to pay it down is irresponsible. Local governments do not enjoy deficit spending and they survive on tight budgets, there is no reason why the federal government can't.

The government doesn't have to live within a budget like everyone else. Don't you know that?

Anyone that supports our current fiscal state with the debt to GDP ratio we have is nuts. The federal government doesn't want to shrink and as such extreme deficit spending is what sustains such a bloated entity.

Ditto.

Trying to compare a household budget or a businesses' budget to the governments is really dumb.

Can you tell me where you've studied economics? Because I'll make sure never to get my education there.

It's not about paying the debt and even if you refuse to pay those countries will simply refuse the dollar for goods and the whole US economy will collapse within a month or two.

What will screw the US isn't the debt itself it's when the rest of the world starts to dump the dollar as a reserve and for use in trade, and it's already stating to happen it's the whole reason they got trigger happy with Iran.

That's not the reason why deficit spending is important in a recession. It's because government spending is a large and very important source of aggregate demand, and most recessions like the recent one are caused by a lack of AD. The fact that welfare programs for the poor become more stimulative and more helpful when unemployment is high is just a bonus.

Having a large amount of debt could indicate that your country is growing faster than what it can produce itself. Having debt is a good thing in regards to growth.

This pretty much sums it up.

I don't think anyone here is going to say that we should never get it under control. Rather that spending during a recession is a better option than extreme austerity measures which would most likely lower GDP of said country, and in turn prolong a recession. The US has fared much better than austerity strapped European countries for the most part.

The ability to go into debt is a good thing. Not being able to pay your debts once you're in them is the part that causes issues.

Clinton had us pointed in the right direction.

Not necessarily. He could have just been President during a time which foreign countries were growing faster than the US was and demanding more of US goods.

Stop hating on Bill's SWAG.

Of course deficit spending should be allowed, but the level of debt (and the level of deficit) we have now is absurd.

I don't care to understand how a debt of trillions is not crippling. Economics is stupid.

Imagine WWII only the US is not allowed to have deficit spending.

Now that you have the absolute answer you can turn your attention to discussion about the degree of debt, why and when.

I'm not sure it's possible for any kind of modern economy to function without debt.

Bill had no swag and the deficit increased under him too. Clinton balanced budget a myth and The Dangerous Myth About The Bill Clinton Tax Increase both show that part of our current problems started back when Bill was in office.

agree. Its not necessarily a bad thing, but going crazy overboard with 18 trillion in debt is nuts. I would say that having a balanced budget is the best,like with clinton. We had a balanced budget with him and I think at one point we had no debt at all under him~

Yeah, no we did not have a balanced budget under Clinton as the links above show.

It shouldn't be called a debt ceiling. It should be called the debt sky. I hear the Democrats are working on such legislation. Has it ever failed to increase since 1971? At this point there is no reason why you shouldn't have a government job. But this gravy train will end. The freer markets create what the government cannot, progress. Removing the debt ceiling or infinitely raising it shows the only thing government can create, money and therefore debt and depression.

You can't refuse the dollar as the dollar is the only form of currency/asset allowed in the transaction of oil.

Everyone who tries and purchases oil without the US dollar gets bombed - historically speaking.

So when the dollar is hyper inflated thanks to the debt ever increasing the oil producers will gladly trade their oil for sounder currency. The world rolls on the dollar does not.

no kidding. well...my mistake~

I don't see it happening - it'll result in another gulf war.

How does America go to war when their money is worthless to fund the war? It doesn't even make it that far. If the country doesn't pay it's debt or acknowledges it has debt then other countries will stop trading with America. What do you think China gets when we get all of their products? Dollars. And every other country that create products and sells them in America. Those products are no longer on Walmart's shelves. Life is harder knowing that America has to produce it's own consumer products plus the useless* war effort.

It's already happening it's why they're getting trigger happy with Iran who are starting to sell oil to places like China and India in there own currency and bypassing the dollar totally.

"Should the U.S. have no debt?" Yes.

"Will the U.S. ever get out of debt?" Probably not.

You don't think? Just look at this topic or any topic regarding spending where most of the kiddies think we should continue spending without any stopping or slowing down in sight. Like good little stooges they repeat what the government tells them and it tells them that we must continue spending. Any attempt to lower spending while getting a handle on our out-of-control debt is met with resistance. I honestly believe some of the kids here think money grows on trees and that debt never has to be repaid.

I believe in another topic you gave a one sentence comment mentioning how our debt to GDP has been higher. We are well on our way of surpassing 1946. Should we seriously address a problem when we might be able to find a solution or do we wait until it has reached the point of no return?

Some of the posters here might change their tunes when they get a job outside of working a few hours at Gamestop or Best Buy and see what it is like to pay taxes to a wasteful government. Right now the government has the thinking of increaseing taxes while increasing spending. Eventually the money will run out.

Exactly. When America does a few drone strikes they'll stop.

Probably because doing it right now when the economy is in a precarious position puts us at a great risk of another recession. Which ironically could lead us into eve more debt.

Understand our government does not want to fix its spending problem at all. Our leaders do not make ANY serious attempt at getting this debt under control nor do they give any indication of doing it in the future. They always have some reason why they must spend well out of our means. People would not be enraged if the debt spending was minimal but that certainly isn't the case. Instead of squandering monies (both borrowed and those stolen) get people back to work and watch how they stimulate the economy.

Bush and his stooges spent like mad and now Obama and his stooges are doing the very same. The next President and Congress will follow in these footsteps too.

Entitlements can't be cut. Military spending can't be cut because we need to be the police force of the world. Foreign aid can;t be cut because we need to buy friendship. The list goes on and on. There could be serious reform but no one is ready to make the decisions.

Yes and no.

Countries should, over the long term, strive to average little to no debt. However, they also need the flexibility to deficit spend when the economy falters and to carry a surplus when it picks back up. This necessity is why a balanced budget amendment is a poorly conceived concept.