The United States is $222 trillion in debt

You really don’t know what a lock box is do you ? You seem to think the govt is a private enterprise.

 

If the interest is paid, the debt does not grow

 

Wrong.

 

The Democrats refused to accept his lower spending in this years budget. You DO know Congress has more input on the budget than the President?

 

It's a retirement system like other retirement systems and even insurance systems which INVEST premiums and the returns on those investments help fund current benefits. We HOPE current contributions out pace current benefits. The more we make off the money invested the lower can be the premiums required.

 

Interest only loan above your understanding?

 

I know exactly what is a lockbox both in reality and in analogy. Why would you put all those contributions into something which is not even going to give a meager return?

 

Charming conversation here.

Both political parties have been spending money on the United States’ Forever Wars, printing money and basically giving it to the wealthy as well as cutting their taxes while cutting back government services to the needy. This has been going on for twenty years.

There is no lockbox and Congress doesn’t care about the budget, the deficit, or the debt. It is a scam.

Most politicians only care about getting elected and getting bribes regardless of their proclaimed ideology.

 

You’re funny. A little naive, but funny. All you have to do, is pay the interest.....do you have to balance the rest of the budget, or does just paying of the interest do it.

 

I have referred to SS as a defined benefit retirement plan which it is. It may be government mandated but a defined benefit plan nonetheless. You want to place surplus funds under the government mattress and just sit there. That makes NO economic sense. If I had my way they would be invested in stock and bond index funds so that they make a better return than the special T-Bills in which they are place. The only reason they are placed in those is that they are the safest place to put them so they lose lose value to inflation sitting around doing nothing. The more returns on that capital the lower can be the premiums.

 

Laughable. Guess who pays the rate on a treasury bill ?
Btw, the rate is less then the rate of inflation, and is paid by your own income tax dollars. So, your payroll tax pays your insurance, and your income tax pays the tax rate. You personally will see none of it. It’s not an individual account. You’re delusional.

 

That is economic folly. A virtual lockbox prevents them from earning money which keeps the system going and solvent. T-Bills, and these are special T-Bills, are the safest investment on the planet. You say they should be placed under the government mattress and lose value to inflation. That is fiduciary irresponsibility. And your SS and Medicare are not loan agencies? OK I never said so why make that statement? And it us certainly NOT the Republicans who want to go after my benefits it is the Democrats who talk about means testing benefits and cutting benefits to those like me who sacrificed and saved all their lives.

 

Bluesguy said: ↑
When you have something of intellectual interest to add let me know.

Yes it seems so.

 

The government.

So let's invest surpluses in broad based stock and bond index funds and better yet let everyone invest some of their contributions into personal investment accounts.

 

It does not earn ANY MONEY for personal accounts. You never see it. The trivial rates are paid by YOUR TAX DOLLARS. It’s backed by the treasury department. It’s your tax dollars that are paying the meager interest.

It’s interest in the compound interest that increases the debt .
You are delusional. You never see the money.

 

Ha ha. Wow. Now you want to privatize SS and Medicare.
Wow.

 

That’s you income tax dollars paying your interest on your payroll taxes. Wow.

 

You never think this through. Wow, after the term is up, you no longer owe the principle ? Hardly. For that privilege, you pay much higher rates on the principle, which you still have to pay off. All you do is delay the pain for more indebtedness. .

Sounds like a way to increase the debt, bigly.

 

The country could just declare bankruptcy and cancel the debt.

 

White flag noted and accepted.

 

As long as all interest is paid in any given year, the debt does not go up.
Accept that you were wrong and move on.

 

Of course there is still principle. But it didn't go up.
Sorry you had to be wrong

 

The principle didn’t go up ? Have you been sleeping under a rock ? It went up over 800 billion this year alone !
We still we have to balance the budget and not borrow anymore in addition to paying the interest on accumulated debt. Altogether, the Govt. Needs to run a surplus in order to keep the debt from increasing.

 

The GOP proposal to cut SS benefits is a way of increasing the amount borrowed from the SS trust fund. It’s called, debt shifting. The debt then goes from to pay off due treasury bills of foreign and domestic holders at the expense of the SS trust fund and any new TREASURY BILL BUYERS at lower interest rates. All recessionary. Republicans have been doing this for decades when in charge. By running up deficits in good times and not paying down the yearly deficits, they promote recessions. .

 

Gee, where'd those bozos learn that?