Good thing the OP is stated in the title. The little hamster doesn’t seem to reach that high.
Well in short no. Some of the ND is used to pay for capital improvment projects which the gov’t finances over time. As long as these projects keep comming up we will continue to have a ND.
Missing OP alert.
I suspect not, as the American public would be outraged if the debt were eliminated. You see, most of the debt is in the form of savings bonds sold to the people, which are a very popular investment. If Uncle Sam all of a sudden announced that he would no longer be selling bonds, a lot of people would become very unhappy.
In fact it could be questioned whether the bonds issued for capital investement like Hoover Dam or highways should be lumped into the same national debt as debts resulting from running deficits, like we are doing again. There is no reason why those who lived in the 1910’s and '20’s should have been taxed to build up a fund to pay cash for Hoover Dam when many of them would never live to get any benefit from it.
And further, some of the annual budget outlay is for the purpose of paying interest on the bonds issued for captal improvements and it could be argued that also shouldn’t be counted as a current expense. Maybe that interest shouldn’t count as a part of the deficit. Proper accounting procedures for the national budget isn’t as easy as it might seem.
I don’t think there is a problem with a national debt, or any other debt, as long as it can be financed without hardship.
And, what are the ramifications if it doesn’t.
I recall reading somewhere that the US government has been in debt since before the civil war (though, I welcome someone to correct me on that). Anyways, we seem to be doing fine despite it.
(my original post didn’t seem to take)
There was only one period in U.S. history when there was no national debt. It was in the 1830s, when the federal government was conducting massive western land sales. But it last only a few years.
A cite for my last post.
Though you make a good point I really think it should be counted. Even in our personal finances when we make a desicion to make a big purchace (esp one that will be financed) we will sometimes calculate what we make (to see if we can afford it) and don’t take into account what we owe.
If cap. imp. pro. and their financing were excluded then the gov’t would run a surplus more often then it does now. Making it easier for them to spend it. When it has a surplus we see the reluctance it has of giving our money back so they will find ‘new and improved’ ways of spending it.
No