For perspective, comparison:
Our whole economy: $14 Trillion
Our annual budget: 3.6 Trillion
Current revenues: 2.1 Trillion
US population 308 Million
Taxpayers 217 M
DEBT
For government itself, treasury $14 Trrillion
For Social Security benefits to be paid 17.5
For Medicare to be paid 89
Total Debt 120.5 Tr
Source: 2009 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports. See discussion of problem at NCPA.org.
Debt per person $ 391,000
Debt per taxpayer $ 555,000
Total debt compared to income, ratio 50+. Our income is 2% of our debt, which no person could sustain in a personal situation. We cannot catch up, as we are spending more than our income and not paying down any of our debt.
BUDGET
Budget $3.6 Trillion
Payments required to pay the budger, per year, per taxpayer
assuming 217 million taxpayers, including interest but not principal $16,589
BOTTOMLINE
On average, each taxpayer owes $555,000 on which he/she has to make payments, plus pay average taxes of $16,589 per year BESIDES his/her personal expenses. The numbers don't work - we don't produce enough to do that, unless we truly cut back on lifestyle AND increase productivity for higher incomes.
To pay down the debt, assuming no interest, to get even in 30 years:
Person Taxpayer
Just the National Debt, per year
COMMENTS:
The unfunded liabilities rose by $5 trillion dollars in 2008. Note that our total revenue for the US government was about 2.1 trillion. That would mean we could never catch up.
