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Debt GDP Government Spending

The Future of US Government Debt

Those who say “These are extraordinary times. We can’t afford to worry about the national debt now. We’ll be in a better position to deal with that later.” should check out these projections.

Those defending the huge budget deficit incurred by the massive federal stimulus package often say, “These are extraordinary times. We can’t afford to worry about the national debt now. We’ll be in a better position to deal with that later.”

The falsehood of dealing with the government debt like that is best illustrated by the following chart.

Debt to GDP Forecast Chart. Federal Debt Held by the Public - 1940 to 2080

Graph Source: http://www.gao.gov/financial/citizensguide2008.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget