Number from https://www.usdebtclock.org/
Do you think national debts to be immoral or wrong?
On the one hand, the country is strained and if the debt is not paid, it’s basically like stealing from future generations to pay for the present; it’s not “their money” to borrow.
On the other, “good debt” enables people the ability to build at a profit; wealthy people do this all the time: for example, take out a loan for $9 million and buy some properties, wait a bit, sell at $10 million, have a net $1 million gain… in the meantime they are $9 million in “debt”, but it’s “good debt”. Is the national debt “good debt” though (I don’t really know).
On the cynical end with this though I guess is the realization that this was likely to be a problem, it’s the “tragedy of the commons” applied to government: elites get in power and put the government in to debt for their pet projects, and they don’t really care if the government goes bust because it’s not “their money or problem”. Does this imply a necessity of “anarchism” (anarcho-capitalism) with modern governments being inherently tending towards self-destruction? Or banning taking on national debts to prevent this problem?
Opinions on if national debts are wrong or how they are to be managed?
I don’t think national debt is wrong, as it can be a useful economic tool. However, the total fiscal irresponsibility we have operated the US with since the 80s is a different matter entirely. Just limitlessly stacking debt out of a refusal to raise taxes will eventually result in a debt so large payments can’t be made, and default will become inevitable at that point.
I really hope we can get our shit together enough to reform our tax system, but it looks like it less and less every year.
how about cutting spending?
Because we already have a pretty terrible social safety net and few social services for a country of our size and development level.
Obviously reforms could be made to eliminate waste and reduce corruption in government spending (especially military spending…), but I think the relative amount of fat that could be trimmed is very small in comparison to the amount of money we would need to save in order to balance the budget and start paying down our debt.