Why does the United States keep borrowing money?

[San Lumen]

I don't understand why the United States keeps borrowing money. I along with many others struggle to pay my bills every month yet the US government keeps spending more than it takes in and never pays back that money owed. A lot of people in major cities across the US have to choose between paying rent or eating. That is a reprehensible choice no one should ever have to make yet the government borrows money like it grows on trees. If I went to my bank and asked them to raise my credit limit without paying back what i owe they would tell me to take a hike. Also if the organization i work for ran its finances like the US government we would go broke in no time.

A solution is we could tax the profits of corporations after all they are people according to the Supreme Court, cut military spending by 50 percent and you still have the largest military in the world, and make the rich pay their fair share of taxes.

Why can't the government reign in spending and not spend so much? Next time the debt ceiling comes up it should not be raised and whatever we can't afford gets postponed or cut. As a last resort we default.

If we keep borrowing money like we are we will end up like Greece.

Your thoughts?

[Othelos]

Your thoughts?

we are spending too much.

[Conserative Morality]

The US government is neither an individual nor a business. Its ownership is effectively unlimited; it is a massive instrument of controlled coercion. The reason we borrow money is to (In theory) maintain services that will allow a return to budget surpluses when the economy recovers - but more importantly, because the government is not a business, money is not its primary concern.

[Atlanticatia]

A government budget is in no way similar to a household budget. The US Government has a limitless ability to borrow money as it has the US Dollar, and we've pretty much been borrowing money forever. We have had a balanced budget or surplus only three times since JFK was president, I believe.

[Sdaeriji]

I don't understand why the United States keeps borrowing money. I along with many others struggle to pay my bills every month yet the US government keeps spending more than it takes it and never pays back that money owed. A lot of people in major cities across the US have to choose between paying rent or eating. That is a reprehensible choice no one should ever have to make yet the government borrows money like it grows on trees. If I went to my bank and asked them to raise my credit limit without paying back what i owe they would tell me to take a hike. Also if the organization i work for ran its finances like the US government we would go broke in no time.

A solution is we could tax the profits of corporations after all they are people according to the Supreme Court, cut military spending by 50 percent and you still have the largest military in the world, and make the rich pay their fair share of taxes.

Why can't the government reign in spending and not spend so much? Next time the debt ceiling comes up it should not be raised and whatever we can't afford gets postponed or cut. As a last resort we default.

If we keep borrowing money like we are we will end up like Greece.

Your thoughts?

That's not how economies work.

[Insaeldor]

I agree that we spend far to much in any given year but to answer your question it's how economics works. You'd be hard pressed to find a nation that doesn't borrow money at any capacity many with far worse debt to GDP ratings than us.

[Ethel mermania]

Be,cause it always goes on a weekend bender, and never has enough at the end of the month to pay its bills.

[San Lumen]

Be,cause it always goes on a weekend bender, and never has enough at the end of the month to pay its bills.

What do you mean by weekend bender? Why can't we not have enough? If we did the three things i suggested the US probably would.

[Kelinfort]

We're fine. Go look at the ten year bond yields. We'll worry when they're over five percent.

[Calimera II]

The US is fine for now. But they should cut spending and get their corporate tax rate at an acceptable level.

[OMGeverynameistaken]

There are five countries in the world without external debts, those being:
Palau
Taiwan
Liechtenstein
Brunei
And Singapore

Notice that those are all relatively small countries with high human development indexes. They don't have huge overseas commitments to maintain, gigantic infrastructures to worry about, and so forth.

The US' level of debt isn't even really that high in terms of our economy. The current debt sits at 106% of the GDP, compared to 406% for the UK, 142% for Germany, and 999% for Iceland. We're fairly middle-of-the-road there. China's external debt is low, but they're playing some games involving financial black magic which will probably catch up to them eventually.

[Pandeeria]

Who cares?

We don't have to pay it back.

[Pandeeria]

The US is fine for now. But they should cut spending and get their corporate tax rate at an acceptable level.

We definitely don't need to cut spending.

[Pandeeria]

I agree that we spend far to much in any given year but to answer your question it's how economics works. You'd be hard pressed to find a nation that doesn't borrow money at any capacity many with far worse debt to GDP ratings than us.

We don't spend too much. Especially when there's still people in our borders who don't have healthcare, who don't have homes, who don't have enough food to eat every night.

[Calimera II]

The US is fine for now. But they should cut spending and get their corporate tax rate at an acceptable level.

We definitely don't need to cut spending.

You definitely should cut spending or at least the US should stop spending to increase at a ridiculous rate.

[Pandeeria]

Your thoughts?

we are spending too much.

No, we're not.

[Meridiani Planum]

Your thoughts?

we are spending too much.

Ditto. The solution is to have a leaner government so that no borrowing is necessary.

[Conserative Morality]

We definitely don't need to cut spending.

Defense could use a bit of a trim. 2.5% of GDP seems more reasonable than 3.8%.

[San Lumen]

we are spending too much.

No, we're not.

How is it not spending too much when we are always borrowing money to pay bills?

[Pandeeria]

We definitely don't need to cut spending.

Defense could use a bit of a trim. 2.5% of GDP seems more reasonable than 3.8%.

Defense is a major employer. Cutting it would make many loose their jobs and benefits.

No, we're not.

How is it not spending too much when we are always borrowing money to pay bills?

Because there's people still suffering in our own borders because we don't spend enough.

[Great Nepal]

If I went to my bank and asked them to raise my credit limit without paying back what i owe they would tell me to take a hike.

If you could show them ability to legally print money, centuries of clean credit record and ability to reclaim debt for theoretically unlimited time, they would certainly reconsider.

[The Union of Tentacles and Grapes]

we are spending too much.

No, we're not.

Don't be a pedant(hole). We are, and you know it. Spending extremely unwisely on basically everything is a variety of overspending.

[Pandeeria]

We definitely don't need to cut spending.

You definitely should cut spending or at least the US should stop spending to increase at a ridiculous rate.

How about we create new, progressive forms of taxation (like taxing the use of certain drugs, taxing churches that make surplus profit, increasing the tax rate of the rich, implementing a carbon tax that will give us hundreds of billions of dollars, etc.) to help slow down the debt?

[Purpelia]

No, we're not.

Don't be a pedant(hole). We are, and you know it. Spending extremely unwisely on basically everything is a variety of overspending.

Starting with the armed forces.

[The Union of Tentacles and Grapes]

You definitely should cut spending or at least the US should stop spending to increase at a ridiculous rate.

How about we create new, progressive forms of taxation (like taxing the use of certain drugs, taxing churches that make surplus profit, increasing the tax rate of the rich, implementing a carbon tax that will give us hundreds of billions of dollars, etc.) to help slow down the debt?

Because only an idiot would say that you can't do those things while simultaneously closing tax loopholes, welfare for corporations, oil subsidies, war corporation contracts, military spending, basically the whole DEA as it is, etc.