Oh, the Debt

So much debt. (Although not as much, percentage wise, as there was during WWII).

Thomas Sowell provides a nice, brief article highlighting the consequences and fallacies of our federal government's spending practices.

"The CBO [Congressional Budget Office] report points out that the national debt, which was 36 percent of the Gross Domestic Product three years ago, is now projected to be 62 percent of GDP at the end of fiscal year 2010-- and rising in future years."

That Congressional Budget Office usually churns out figures that bring to light the danger of government over spending, but often the figures aren't widely reported. Surprise. Check them out though.

A little self-criticism: My objection to Sowell's or even my own warnings would be We made it fine after WWII's gigantic debt, this won't be any different. What's the big deal?

First, debt in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. Businesses and individuals go into debt to invest in goods and services so a higher return may be made in the future. However the circumstances of the debt are what matters and what is done in follow-up. In WWII, our country went into debt to finance a war against multiple enemies. It was a limited time investment in an endeavor that few people want to repeat (Of course, boatloads of money have been spent on wars since then, but that's a different post). The modern government is instead wracking up debt by pouring money into programs, companies, bureaucracies that set the precedent for increased government spending, very few of which create value or serve their purpose and then disappear. State bureaucracies are Frankensteins kept alive by wishes and false money. But as Ludwig Von Mises says, "The culprit is not the bureaucrat but the political system. And the sovereign people is still free to discard the system."