That surplus must be nice huh, Iraq?

Here is an issue that does merit the attention of the voting public. It is a shame that national debt is an issue. It is common sense to budget for not more than the total income. Obviously, the current crop of politicians lack sense. The national debt is a contributing factor to most of the other serious political problems faced by the USA. Fix this and some other matters will begin to fix themselves. To fix this spending must be cut and taxes collected more equitably and efficiently.

  It's a perennial problem,  but much worse now- I guess that's what we collectively get for electing- TWICE- the figurehead of an administration that makes Jethro from The Beverly Hillbillies look like a genius. Jethro spent soooooo much money on bombs faster than a middle aged , profusely sweating, heavy drinking, midlife crisis afflicted, stuck in a dead marriage,  businessman guy with satyriasis ( the male form of nymphomania) would have on a show called "Blow all of America's money in Bangkok in 24 Hours!" 

Oh and cutting jobs, union busting, closing down factories and sending jobs overseas so they can not only screw Americans and cause great stress to many American families but shortchange someone 5, 000 miles away even more and pay him or her a pittance....I'm sure the CEO'S and this administration laugh at how far they've got by saying a few hoary cliches, lies, fearmongering, warmongering,  and Bush's, our "Fearless Leader,"malapropisms and what not...

Its sad to see how much we're in debt and most of that money goes towards military spending, A new study shows that two out of every three dollars is used on military spending. If only it were used to improve schools and make the eduction system stronger, my school is falling apart and nothing is being done about it because barley any money is being put into it.

The United States risks losing its pre-eminent status around the world because of its growing status as a debtor nation. 2005 was the first year since 1933 that Americans spent more money than took home to save; of course 1933 was the peak of the Great Depression. The problem is the same, although the context is somewhat different than it was then. Today, more than ever, the United States has to rely on foreign central banks to finance its excessive spending, thus placing the countries finances in a very high risk position. Basically, an ever increasing percentage of Americas "mortgage" or debt is being held by other players. The servicing of our debt is going overseas to countries like China, a nation whose economy is rapidly growing, but is still centrally controlled. Essentially, China holds a good deal of our debt, so therefore our economy is dependent on China's ability to service our debt. Yes, they have opened up their country to foreign investment, but much of that investment is centrally determined by the central government, which doesn't allocate goods and services all that efficiently. That is a recipe for problems for China's economy, for Asia's economy, for our economy and the overall global economy. They're emerging as a key player, but their financial health isn't all that great. They are still fundamentally a communist economy; they dropped much of the doctrine, especially since the 1970s, but the central government still runs and regulates the economy tight. Being a debtor nation means that we will have less leverage over our creditors in regards to our foreign and economic policies, not to mention our national security as well--and they will have more leverage over us. Do we want to have countries like China, whose economic health is somewhat cloudy, hold the keys to our future?

ask my great grand children

We are spending too much.
1. Cut spending
2. Use the veto pen
3. Cut the size of govt.
4. Cut taxes
5. Balance the budget during peace time

This is one of those issues that is hard for politicians to address because for one it is something that will affect the country over a very long period of time and it is also a complicated economic topic that few can agree on. If, however, debt for the country works the same way it does for the individual it is a huge problem. Payment on the interest alone is the second or third highest expenditure in the national budget, depending on who you ask. Got that?! Behind only Defense and Social Security (and should be behind grossly underfunded Medicare). Imagine if the paying INTEREST on your credit card, car loan, home mortgage or student loan was your third biggest payment you made every month. Is that a financially healthy way to live?

in pure dollar figures it is staggering. As a % of federal outlays, the debt has been higher in the past. However, same as with a budget deficit, higher debt leads to higher interest rates which leads to higher prices which leads to economic slowdown. We need to work toward reducing as much debt as practical. Concerning that foreign investors are making noise about cutting back on their purchase of U.S. securities because of our fiscal policies.

The disasterous national debt is a result of a half century of Great Society social engineering. The federal governmnent could afford legitimate functions if it stopped usurping the powers and duties of the states and the people. (10th Amendment)

This country needs to get serious about reducing the national debt, deficit, or whatever yu want to call it. We're headed toward some unhappy days at the rate we are going - I have to say that this administration, although purportedly fiscally conservative, has done more than its share of racking up debt. We import a whole heel of a lot more than we export, foreigners own a big piece of the US (especially in terms of money lent to us), we're having to pay more and more each year in interest on the debt, etc. Much as I dislike it, from a strategic point of view, we need to raise taxes somewhat, and sure as hell need to cut government spending and entitlement programs.

The Dollar is no longer seen as a stable currency in the World Market.Thanks-Dubbaya!

Time to reign in the budgets and in one clean sweep change all of our elected representives. That will get the message accross.

i will take the middle ground on this issue. our national debt isn't a problem to be ignored and we should take steps to insure to decrease it, or at the very least limit the increase. unfortunately we happen to be at war and although our economy isn't in recession it is not as strong as it could be. quite simply there are much larger issues than the national debt at this time.

Uh, accounting was never my strong point. But, no we don't need a huge national debt;this will only lead to catastrophe in the long run. UPDATE: Now I have never claimed to be a Great Thinker.

Actually Lance, our current debt is nearly 60% of our current GNP. You are referring to this year's budget deficit of $500 billion, which is less than 5% of our GNP. However, the total accumulated debt is now pressing $7 trillion. It is quite amazing that the so-called fiscal conservatives do not realize what a serious issue this is. The numbers have become so large and unimaginable that most citizens just seek to ignore the debt all together and dismiss it as a non-issue. However, interest financing on the debt is the third largest expenditure in the federal budget at an estimated $350 billion a year, about 15% of the entire federal budget. Rest assured, interest payments will rise rapidly as interest rates rise over the next several years. We can no longer afford to simply dismiss the national debt as a nonissue. The United States has grown from the largest creditor in the world to the largest debtor nation in the world. We owe nearly 1/3 of our debt to foreign countries, INCLUDING Communist China. This is simply unacceptable, and both Democrats and Republicans are to blame. President Bush nor Congress have made any real effort to control spending and pay down the debt, as it is much easier to dismiss the debt as a nonissue and pile up on spending and tax cuts in time for re-election. The national debt is a very serious issue. When the debt is 60% of our total GNP, there is certainly a problem. Even as our economy expands and the size of our annual Gross National Product continues to rise, running $375 billion deficits is only going to stack up the debt even more, and it is likely that the debt will remain above 50% of our total GNP until true debt reduction is made a top priority. The debt is a problem, but unfortunately, no one seems to take it seriously, and as apathy about the debt among Americans continues, politicians will continue to pile up the debt and will be content at maintaining the status quo. If you're content with running multi-billion dollar deficits each year, spending $350 billion+ a year (enough to pay for 1/4 of Bush's total tax cut) on just interest (not debt reduction itself), then keep voting in a Congress that rubber-stamps every single spending bill and sends them to a president who hasn't vetoed a single one since he's been in office.

We do not have a revenue generating problem in this country. Tax collections have never been higher, nor has the tax burden per taxpayer ever been so onerous, including WWI and WWII. What we do have in this country is a spending problem, a BIG spending problem and it is truly bi-partisan (as opposed to non-partisan, which it is not). Every time we cut taxes, whether Kennedy, Reagan or Bush, we have a windfall of tax revenue, which no media outlet points out (how does he plan to PAY FOR HIS TAX CUT?), but the spending waterfall continues. Unfortunately, the closest we got to a solution was with Clinton in the Oval Office and Newt Gingrich shoving the Contract with America in his face. Today, nobody has the fiscal credibility to swing the momentum in the other direction, including a conservative president and a republican-controlled Congress (both houses! ). Why not? Because gaining reelection is the singular goal of every politician in office, and to achieve that goal, every politician must play Santa Claus every day of the year (look what I've got for you! ) with your and my tax money. How does this arrangement end? Organizations whose raison d'etre is to CUT spending need to be bolstered and supported, in spite of whose ox is being gored, and government has to be told to do less. Tax cuts raise revenue but it's like pouring water into a leaky bucket if the spending is as out-of-control as is that of the US Government. And railing about the debt, or the deficit, or the federal budget OBFUSCATES the discussion. It's about the spending, stupid. Sorry, I just had to sneak that in.

Redo is correct in the fact the I said debt when I should have said deficit. (and I will keep posted the mistake to be fair on the point) However, that number is actually starting to shrink as present tax receipts are accumlating surpluses (over 19 billion for the month of June) due to economic growth spurred by yes guys-TAX CUTS! At the rate the treasury is taking in money presently the projected deficit will have to be reduced by $100 billion by years end bringing the total debt payment to less than 4% of GDP. This proves my point. As long as the economy keeps growing its absolutely useless to talk about how high the total debt is. If I make 200 million a year and have outstanding managable debt of 50 million it's really not a huge issue unless I go totally unemployed. If I end up making only 175 million the next year could I not make the debt payments? The United States economy is NEVER going totally unemployed to every Maxist's chagrin. Even in a recession our debt management would be workable for years down the line. Presently the economy is growing at an annual rate of 4.6%. Unemployment is at a 20 year low. After tax imcomes are 4.3% higher than last year. Even domestic discretionary spending is down to 2.7%. Once again-get a grip! The American economy is strong and will be for a long time to come. This is our hugest threat? The most important thing facing our lives people? Give me a break! Our debt makes up less that 5% of our GNP! None of you have credit? None of you buy things on loans? Yeah we should be more fiscally sound. Yes we should curb runaway spending (both by liberals and conservatives) but this is really a non-issue at the moment. Go ask the countries in Latin America what they think of 5% dept payments and they'll laugh at you! Our economy is close to 12 tillion a year. Tax revenues are in the range of 4 trillion. A couple hundred billion borrowed here or there isn't going to kill us. Get a grip. As long as the economy keeps growing we will be fine. Now terrorism that deflates value of the economy drastically for no good reason- that's a real problem! Why don't we spend our time worrying about that!?

This isn't half as lareg a problem as the media would have one to believe. Besides, it's a problem that could easily be solved simply by cutting off foreign aid and drastically cutting back on social(-ist) program funding.

It's really a non-issue.

Much, much too high. We're getting closer to a trillion dollar debt, scary!

As a US bond holder, the national debt is not a problem. Never will be. The US has an unprecedented AAA bond rating.