A million bucks each minute

The U.S. national debt was less than a trillion in 1980, $3.2 trillion in 1990, and $5.7 trillion in 2000. It briefly fluctuated up and down in the late 1990s,  but it has ballooned ever since, and it stood - as of 11:30 Eastern Time today - at $9,157,656,654,443.45.

We're currently adding $1 million a minute - $1.4 billion a day - to the tally. By early 2009, we will pass the $10 trillion mark, which means the national debt clock near Times Square in New York City will run out of digits. Fast-rising interest on the debt now ranks as our nation's third-highest spending category, trailing only guaranteed retirement and health benefits like Social Security and Medicare and defense spending.

The Associated Press reported this week that a time of reckoning on the debt may be drawing closer, due to the weakening American dollar, the looming retirements of the oldest Baby Boomers, and the slowing U.S. economy. "Like homeowners who took out adjustable-rate mortgages, the government faces the prospect of seeing this debt — now at relatively low interest rates — rolling over to higher rates, multiplying the financial pain," reporter Tom Raum wrote.

"So long as somebody is willing to keep loaning the U.S. government money, the debt is largely out of sight, out of mind," Raum continued. "But the interest payments keep compounding, and could in time squeeze out most other government spending — leading to sharply higher taxes or a cut in basic services like Social Security and other government benefit programs. Or all of the above."

What does this mean to local community organizers? As Raum noted, a national debt crunch would sharply curtail spending on even basic services and entitlements, not to mention so-called discretionary spending on things like libraries, medical research, pre-school programs, and student loans. The overall economy will be affected, too, which means foundations and other philanthropic organizations will have fewer resources.

The national debt currently costs each of us about $30,000, with no end in sight. How do we escape this economic death spiral? A nonpartisan organization called Facing Up to the Nation's Finances, which includes the conservative Heritage Foundation, the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution, and budget watchdog Concord Coalition, among others - is trying to help the nation get its head around the issue and start considering possible solutions. Its website primers on "How This Affects You" and  "How to Run Our Government Without Piling Up Too Much Debt" are good starting points, and a recent report, "It's Time to Pay Our Bills," explores how to develop public will and leadership on debt reduction. Also, have a gander at some of the ideas proposed by readers of a Cape Cod newspaper that posed this question to its readers: How would you pay off your share of the debt? 

Comments

[Julie Fanselow]

What do you know? The debt increased $96 million in the time it took me to research and write that post. The mind boggles ...

[Scott Bittle]

Hmmm. We've got a national debt clock; maybe we need to work on a national debt stopwatch for those kind of calculations.
Thanks for your great post and for participating in the Facing Up carnival.

[Julie Fanselow]

You're welcome, Scott - and we look forward to seeing your digest when it's ready.