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Editor,
Imagine if you had a generous uncle who always gave you great gifts and supported you in your times of need. He made your life easier and these gifts continued for generations. Then one day you find out he was using your credit card to pay for everything. In this way your nice Uncle Sam has created our national debt. It is currently at $107,000/person or $200,000/taxpayer.
And that doesn’t include the $1.2 trillion in credit card debt or $2 trillion in student debt. How much is a trillion dollars? If you had a trillion dollars when Christ was alive and spent $1 million every day you would still have 700 more years of money today.
Now if you are a responsible person and find yourself deeply in debt, you tell your family no vacations, no eating out, no new anything until we pay this off. Our government doesn’t work that way. Their solution has always been if we owe money then print more money.
If an individual prints money to pay his bills it is counterfeiting but when the government does the same thing it is legal. The question is how long can this go on before the system collapses. It is the ultimate Ponzi scheme. We keep borrowing further and further into the future to pay today’s bills. It seems that the only thing our government officials worry about is that the system holds together on their watch. Not a great solution.
Steven Howard
Redwood City
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(6) comments
The obvious answer to balancing the budget of our nation and decreasing the national debt is to collect all the taxes that millionaires, billionaires, and large rich corporations owe on their income and assets, just like the rest of us. Next, there needs to be government level enforcement of tax collection. But, mostly, there needs to be better government management and accountability for the taxpayers' money they are spending, including a cost versus benefits analysis of every bill Congress passes, or, cuts. Better government, no matter which party is in power.
Here we go again… Hey Mike O., as I replied to Mr. Bonilla a week and a half ago, not only do billionaires pay their taxes, they pay more than their fair share in taxes, as millionaires do. According to the tax foundation (https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/federal/latest-federal-income-tax-data-2025/) the top 1% in earners pay over 40% of all total income taxes, the top 5% pay 61%, and the top 10% pay 72%. Why don’t folks, especially Democrats who believe in big government, opt to pay more in taxes, or write checks to donate to the feds or the state? It’s my understanding there are a number of Democrat billionaires and I’d bet here in San Mateo County, there are a number of Democrat millionaires. I’d also bet just about all, if not all, of them take as many tax deductions as they can. Maybe if they set an example of paying more taxes, others might follow.
That being said, I agree with government practicing fiscal management but then why are Democrats against DOGE? How many states have established DOGE departments? And how many are "blue" states?
Most of the national debt has increased under Republican dis-administration!
While both President Obama and President Biden handed booming economies over to their Republican follower, Trump, he wasted no time sending it all off the proverbial cliff. No surprise there, considering how uneducated and incompetent, not to mention careless Trump is, putting his most unqualified followers into positions way over their heads, like for example RFKJr. in charge of Health & Human Services. Can anyone imagine anyone less qualified than someone with a warm eating away on whatever is left of his brain? Then we have an alcoholic like Hegseth in charge of the military? Scary, to say the least. Well, with appointments like those, I have to admit that Trump accomplished finding someone that wouldn’t outshine himself! Good job, Donald!
Thanks for your letter, Mr. Howard. The federal government can print money but what can states like California do? They face the same issues and I wouldn’t be surprised if folks in California face steeper per person liabilities. Regardless, what are your proposed solutions? Trump has DOGE and clawed back $9 billion in a recent rescissions bill. One of many, I hope. Trump is also deporting criminals out of our country so they stop receiving money intended for legal citizens. I’m betting $billions are being saved, also. Suggestions?
Couldn't agree more. The interest on the national debt currently exceeds all defense department spending and could become the biggest item in our budget. But what to do when politicians depend on more government spending to raise donations for themselves?
The national debt is mainly a result of Republican administrations mismanagement!
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