Open Thread

October 12th, 2009 9:37 AM

For general discussion and debate. Possible talking point: 40 percent of 2009 income taxes to go towards paying the interest on the national debt.

If you think those town hall meetings over health care were fierce, wait until Americans come to understand the threat to our national financial survival posed by the interest on the government's credit card.
When the government spends more than its revenue, there is a budget deficit. These deficits are paid for by Washington selling interest bearing Treasury securities. If the government were ever to default on its promise to pay periodic interest payments or to repay the debt at maturity, the United States economy would plunge into a level of chaos that would make the Lehman bankruptcy look like a nonevent.

Will Congress make the tough--or maybe not so tough--decisions?