Federal debt and interest payments a snapshot

Tidewater

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At the doorstep of the Biden Administration, here is a snapshot of the last four transitions of power:

End of Clinton/Start of Bush II (FY2001): Debt: $5.8 trillion.[1] Interest on that debt $206 billion.[2]
End of Bush/Start of Obama (FY2009): Debt $11.9 trillion.[3] Interest in that debt: $260 billion.[4]
End of Obama/start of Trump (FY2017): Debt: $20.2 trillion.[5] Interest on that debt: $304 billion.[6]
End of Trump/Start of Biden (FY 2021): Debt $27.8 trillion.[7] Interest on that debt: $379 billion.[8]

We are now paying $379 billion per year just to tread water fiscally. It buys us nothing but another year. If we had not run up this massive debt in past years, what could we do with that $379 billion/year today?

[1] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001_United_States_federal_budget
[3] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_United_States_federal_budget
[5] http://www.polidiotic.com/by-the-numbers/us-national-debt-by-year/
[6] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2017-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2017-BUD.pdf#page=123
[7] https://www.usdebtclock.org/
[8] https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BUDGET-2021-BUD/pdf/BUDGET-2021-BUD-26.pdf
 
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Tidewater

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2000-2008 concern off
2008-2016 concern on
2016-2020 concern off
2021 concern on
I think you all are missing the point, but whatever. The debt does not care who was in the White House. Both Bush and Trump were very bad as far as debt is concerned. In fact, every administration is worse than its predecessors, it seems. One hopes this administration will raise taxes a bunch (or cut spending a bunch, or both), but that book is not yet written. That is the point.
That bomb is going to go off one day and it is going to be very bad for the country.
 

B1GTide

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I think you all are missing the point, but whatever. The debt does not care who was in the White House. Both Bush and Trump were very bad as far as debt is concerned. In fact, every administration is worse than its predecessors, it seems. One hopes this administration will raise taxes a bunch (or cut spending a bunch, or both), but that book is not yet written. That is the point.
That bomb is going to go off one day and it is going to be very bad for the country.
Honestly, compared to the threat of global warming, this threat is really nothing at all.
 

Tidewater

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i was expecting an answer involving the fate of the roman republic
The Roman republic had a lot of problems, but public debt was not really one of them.
Actually, the opposite problem, the more the republic expanded, the more money it may from tributary states. King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, on his death, let his entire kingdom, lock, stock, and barrel to the Roman republic. What to do with all that money was the problem.
 

Tidewater

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Honestly, compared to the threat of Don it's really not a threat at all, but we had to wait until Biden was sworn in to feign concern.
This exemplifies the attitude I have mentioned elsewhere. One party screws the country, so adherents of the other party say, "Hey, you got to screw the country for fours, years. Move over, we want to screw the country for a while." The result is the same, the country still gets screwed.
You're probably right. That iceberg will probably move as we get closer.
 
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NationalTitles18

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This exemplifies the attitude I have mentioned elsewhere. One party screws the country, so adherents of the other party say, "Hey, you got to screw the country for fours, years. Move over, we want to screw the country for a while." The result is the same, the country still gets screwed.
You're probably right. That iceberg will probably move as we get closer.
Where the hell were you the last four years? You just want to rain on the parade today and that's as far as it goes. But whatever makes you happy, man. Have fun with it.
 
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B1GTide

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This exemplifies the attitude I have mentioned elsewhere. One party screws the country, so adherents of the other party say, "Hey, you got to screw the country for fours, years. Move over, we want to screw the country for a while." The result is the same, the country still gets screwed.
Well, so far you are the only one suggesting such a thing. :cautious:
 

MattinBama

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I think you all are missing the point, but whatever. The debt does not care who was in the White House. Both Bush and Trump were very bad as far as debt is concerned. In fact, every administration is worse than its predecessors, it seems. One hopes this administration will raise taxes a bunch (or cut spending a bunch, or both), but that book is not yet written. That is the point.
That bomb is going to go off one day and it is going to be very bad for the country.
Ponzi schemes grow like this typically before they tumble down.
 

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