And the truth shall set ye free

Why the federal debt matters to you

The public debt is currently growing at nearly a billion dollars a day! That is thousands of dollars per second! It's nearly inconceivable. Try blinking your eyes. There went $5,000-$10,000.

It may seem as if the national debt is a nebulous topic with little impact on you, your family or your place of employment. You may have faith in the elected officials you have put into office to watch over just such issues. Many people feel that their one voice is too small to make any real difference. Not true.

Here is an example of how it affects you: About 25 cents out of every dollar of total tax revenue collected is immediately wolfed down by the hideous interest on the Federal debt. You don't "get" anything for the first 25% of your tax assessment. Picture a teen gone wild with the family credit card. It's all fun and games until the family struggles to keep up with minimum payments and the interest that keeps growing like some monster from an old "B" movie.

A substantial amount of money simply vanishes from constructive use. It cannot be re-invested in the economy in any way. You certainly cannot invest it to secure your future. No company will experience the opportunity to grow and create jobs because of your investment. You cannot spend it and thereby directly stimulate the economy. Twenty-five percent of your tax assessment is jettisoned into the black hole of Federal debt service.

Some of your neighbors and even some multi-national companies or foreign governments can be recipients of these interest payments. They may put these funds back into our economy by purchasing goods and services. But for the most part, a substantial portion of the average American family income is evaporating under the hot sun of the interest on this "family debt."

And on this farm we have some pigs. Ee I Ee I Oh. Their names are Duplicative, Outdated, and Wasteful. We can pen them up and keep them from running wild and taking over the farm and the entire neighborhood. By getting these three unruly critters under control, we can reduce the Federal debt! When that happens, everybody wins.