To understand America’s recent budget crisis, Philip Greenspun suggests you divide by 100,000,000:
We have a family that is spending $38,200 per year. The family’s income is $21,700 per year. The family adds $16,500 in credit card debt every year in order to pay its bills. After a long and difficult debate among family members, keeping in mind that it was not going to be possible to borrow $16,500 every year forever, the parents and children agreed that a $380/year premium cable subscription could be terminated. So now the family will have to borrow only $16,120 per year.
And while we’re talking budgets: perhaps you will recall that President Bush promised a “responsible” budget back in 2001. His promise at the time:
“[Within ten years,] we will have paid down all the debt that is available to retire. That is more debt repaid more quickly than has ever been repaid by any nation at any time in history.”
As ThinkProgress.org notes, “The opposite occurred.” Given two wars, one unfettered defense budget, multiple tax cuts for America’s richest families, and record-low taxes on our wealthiest citizens, we’re $14 trillion dollars deeper in debt than we were in 2001.
We share the blame. After all, we keep electing these people.
(Via boingboing
Add comment