POLITICS: US Government Running Out Of Cash

John Snow, United States Treasury Secretary has warned Congress that the US government is running out of cash and will need to either raise the national debt or face running out of money by mid-February or mid-March.



I'm going to go off on a tangent here and say that the debt is going to be raised.

In my own history, this is the first time I have ever seen a government that does nothing but spend, spend, spend. Granted, there are viable instances where money is needed, but I'm sure if they dig deep enough that there's also plenty of pork projects out there that can be cut without any major loss to anyone.

In my opinion, if we keep spending and keep raising the debt cieling, the United States is going to be in major financial trouble within the next 10 years.

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they could always cut their spending down to a reasonable level, couldn't they??

I think they should do that instead.

at first thought, when I read this, I thought, didn't they just print a ton or so of new money?? how could they be out of money that fast....but then they have to buy their money, don't they....probably what they need the additional debt for...

Submitter, I couldn't agree more with both your prediction and feeling towards an out-of-control government.

Our profligate spending -- from everything from government giveaways to lazy bums, third-world mendicants, and fat-cat lobbyists; to our imperialist foreign policy which drives the greatest and most expensive war machine in human history -- has just about bankrupted us.

It certainly has not done anything for our national pride, the way the rest of the world thinks about us , our safety from domestic and foreign tyranny, or even how we can spend our own earnings.

Indeed, these insane expenditures have gravely damaged not only our fiscal condition, but the very foundations of the Republic itself.

Dawnstar, the cost of printing money is insignificant; it is the tremendous inflation that would ensue when you have twice the dollars chasing the same goods and services that ensues from profligate printing which has kept the government from printing more money -- so far.

Maybe we could ask Mexico for a loan seeing that most of our money and a good deal of our jobs are there anyway

maybe I dreamed it, I looked and can't find anything now...but I could have sworn I saw something about billions of new currency being printed.

I agree, doubling the amount of money that is circulating will more than likely just increase inflation to an unmanageable level...

but, well, I was wondering if anyone has heard about this one....our minimum payments on our credit cards will be doubling come January???

carolinanewswire.com...

Why???

"Why are they doing this? It is the result of strong urging and pressure by the government, specifically from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Regulators are concerned that so many Americans are overwhelmed with credit card debt and countless numbers will never see that debt paid in full. "

carolinanewswire.com...

isn't this a wonderful after christmas special treat!!!

by the way, I usually place little tidbits of news on related topics like this because half the time I fail to get them in the right category, so well, here's your chance to get some ats points, or whatever....

This doesn't surprise me, nor should it surprise anyone who is keeping track of our current government's practice of cutting taxes and increasing spending. It just doesn't add up, and no matter how you fudge the numbers or how you play the politics, it still doesn't add up.

This government's policies are bankrupting this country, morally and fiscally.

This is not a bash at Republicans, btw, and I believe OTS's analysis is right on the (dwindling) money. Washington needs to find a better way of going about their business, post haste.

The U.S. debt ceiling is raised on a fairly regular basis, this isn't really a big deal as far as this one occurance goes -- of course the wider picture of a ballooning debt is an issue.

Anyone remember when we were operating on a budgetary surplus?

Wasn't that long ago.

Perhaps we should remove a few "public zoo renovations" from the highway bill. Hmmm. Maybe that bridge to a sparsely inhabited island really was a bad idea, afterall. Hmmmmmmm.

Nahhhh,
just pull a Clinton, and close the goverment for awhile...

Gave us the biggest debt reduction that we have ever had...
illegal, sure... but would that stop Bush?

Originally posted by LazarusTheLong
Nahhhh,
just pull a Clinton, and close the goverment for awhile...

Gave us the biggest debt reduction that we have ever had...
illegal, sure... but would that stop Bush?

but how could we make it out so that it's all the democrats fault...their isn't enough dems in congress at the moment to influence much of anything...the best they can do is fillabuster an issue to death.

hey, I know, we'll blame it all on Clinton!!! works everytime!!!

Originally posted by dawnstar

Originally posted by LazarusTheLong
Nahhhh,
just pull a Clinton, and close the goverment for awhile...

Gave us the biggest debt reduction that we have ever had...
illegal, sure... but would that stop Bush?

but how could we make it out so that it's all the democrats fault...their isn't enough dems in congress at the moment to influence much of anything...the best they can do is fillabuster an issue to death.

hey, I know, we'll blame it all on Clinton!!! works everytime!!!

I don't know if he was saying it was "All the Democrats" fault. He was just insinuating on what one individual president has done. Bush has his fingerprints all over illegal activity, so what would really stop him?

anyone read or watch America an empire built on sand?

America: An empire built on sand?

But economist Will Hutton told me of what he calls "the dark underside of the United States economy" - the condition of its international accounts.

Put bluntly it owes the rest of the world $3trn dollars, and that is debt which is increasing by $500bn a year.

Mr Hutton makes a persuasive case that America's current strength is built on other peoples' money and he fears that the US economic bubble will eventually burst.

"People simply aren't going to carry on lending America billions and billions of dollars and America's not going to carry on borrowing it," he told me.

I didn't read it like we was trying to blame it on clinton, or the dems....but well, it does seem to be your typical republican response to everything these days, it's the dems fault, or clintons.....

so, well, surely Bush wouldn't do anything like shutting down the government unless, of course there was a way to blame clinton, or at least the dems!!! someone!!! but not him!!

Originally posted by dawnstar
but, well, I was wondering if anyone has heard about this one....our minimum payments on our credit cards will be doubling come January???

carolinanewswire.com...

Why???

And this is a bad thing? America as a whole is very over-extended. Exorbitant home values in certain markets. Consumers maxed out on credit cards. US govt spending on military, social programs and aid to foreign countries. It would be hypocritical of us to complain about govt spending when our very own credit cards are maxed out.

Hey I got an Idea perhaps if we sell half of the country to foreign investors we may actually get something.

Whoops I forgot our country has been sold a long time ago.

That is OK China may want to invest more in American.

Let's face people our national debt is out of control and the longer we stay in Iraq the more money is going to be allocated for that.

If we keep cutting off programs that are for the people in the US states are going to face outrageous deficits.

Taxes at state level will be raised to compensate.

Is not a pretty picture but we will be heading for some dark times ahead.

Originally posted by elderban

In my opinion, if we keep spending and keep raising the debt cieling, the United States is going to be in major financial trouble within the next 10 years.

Oh, I so agree, I don't think anyone need to be a financial wizard to figure out that! The debt is increasing by the billions every 2 month, I can't really see how they are going to slither themselves out of this one.

FredT had a fine thread on this. I think it gives a good show, on how the debts has 'prospered' lately. This is no attempt on hijacking, but have a read, it shows great numbers.
politics.abovetopsecret.com...'

[edit on 30-12-2005 by Ulvetann]

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
Dawnstar, the cost of printing money is insignificant; it is the tremendous inflation that would ensue when you have twice the dollars chasing the same goods and services that ensues from profligate printing which has kept the government from printing more money -- so far.

The cost of printing the money is insignificant but the interest paid on borrowing that money from the Federal Reserve by the U.S government is not. Usury is alive and well, the Catholic Church couldnt even erradicate its practice through holy decree. Eliminate the cost of money imposed by your privately controlled Central Bank and you might have a chance of paying off your national debt.

Lincoln did it with his greenbacks and it cost him his life. Jackson did and it nearly cost him his life. Garfield tried it and it cost him his and some say Kennedy was contemplating it. Bush, "kill the bank" and do the World a massive favour

Well... Here's another one that my generation is going to have to pay off. First we have the Baby Boomer's Social Security and the fact that over half of them are obese, they're going to be needing it. Then we have the burden of rising prices on homes, fuel, and other daily crap that we must pay off in order to have those things. Now we have to face this huge debt that this damn government is building up. SO you adults now don't want to pay taxes because you can't? Well guess freaking what? When you retire, there will hardly be a middle class left to pay for them! Way to go! Thanks!

A graph of Federal debt since 1940:



What happened around 1980?
Reaganomics and the trickledown theory as well as dependance on imported oil.

Originally posted by Off_The_Street
... it is the tremendous inflation that would ensue when you have twice the dollars chasing the same goods and services that ensues from profligate printing which has kept the government from printing more money -- so far.

Have you tried to buy a house lately?



Almost $1 trillion added in 2005 alone!

This is a graph of M3 since Greenspan took control of the FED in 87:



In fact the US FED is printing so much money that they no longer want us to know how much. Starting in March 06 they will no longer publish the M3 numbers: www.abovetopsecret.com...

As for the inflation rate caused by all of this money printing, the CPI index has been a total lie since it was changed under the Clinton administration: politics.abovetopsecret.com...



If the CPI was calculated the old way, the current rate of price inflation is hovering around 7%.

I don't know how long they can keep the ponzi scheme going, but it may not be much longer: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Increasing the national debt ceiling (yet again) will only worsen the US' financial situation.
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