US DEBT

U.S. Debt Now Exceeds Economic Output by Amanda Reinecker

The federal debt now exceeds the economic output of the entire United States, thanks to the additional $238 billion the Treasury immediately borrowed after the debt ceiling was raised on August 2. The Heritage Foundation’s Patrick Tyrrell explains in more detail: Debt as of July 31 totaled $14.342 trillion... [T]he value of all of the goods and services produced in the United States in 2010 was $14.5265 trillion. With the Treasury’s additional borrowings of $238 billion so far in August, the total of all debt outstanding has now increased to $14.5807. That’s $54.2 billion more than average 2010 U.S. GDP, the last year for which we have final estimates on GDP from the U.S. Department of Commerce. As it stands, the federal government owes more in debt than we as a nation are producing over an entire year. And we have to pay it all back, plus interest! Will Congress ever realize that its spending problem — and boy do they have one — cannot be cured by more spending?