Mystery Donor Pays Off $2.2M of National Debt

[Shotgunner51]

Mystery Donor Pays Off $2.2M of National Debt
Record donation will cover the interest for a couple of minutes

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff
Posted Nov 23, 2015 2:24 AM CST

A screen depicting the current national debt of the United States is displayed behind Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen as she testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2015. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

(Newser) – A public-minded mystery donor paid off a lot more than their share of the national debt with a record $2.2 million donation in September. Treasury officials haven't released any details on the source of the donation, which brought public contributions toward the debt to a total of almost $3.9 million for the last fiscal year, according to official figures. Contributions to the Public Debt Reduction Fund trickle in throughout the year, USA Today reports, though they amount to just a drop in a bucket big enough for King Kong to bathe in: The debt now stands at more than $18.6 trillion, and Forbes estimates that the interest alone grows by around $1 million per minute.

The debt donors in the first six months of the year included five Republican members of Congress and three Democrats who gave a total of almost $56,000, USA Today notes. The biggest giver, Rep. Chris Gibson, a New York Republican, hands over $4,357.37 every month. "He donates his military pension, so he is not—to use the term we use in New York—double-dipping," his press secretary says. "It's cumbersome. He has no choice but to write a check and deliver it manually every month." (After the latest debt ceiling deal came into effect, the debt surged by a record-setting amount in a single day.)




Mystery Donor Pays Off $2.2M of National Debt

 

[Aestu]

Under American law, donations are tax-deductible. This was some guy's cynical way of getting a headline for doing what he would do anyway.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

The debt will eventually force US to start third world war to cancel the debt

 

[Nilgiri]

The debt will eventually force US to start third world war to cancel the debt

You have any idea of the wealth stockpiled in the US?

Silly catchphrases like yours only underline how little you know about how debt works today in the modern world.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

18 Trillion debt > Any wealth stashed in USA

 

[Aestu]

18 Trillion debt > Any wealth stashed in USA

The debt is paper, mainly in the form of T-bills. The US can wipe the debt out with the flick of a pen simply by printing currency or cancelling the notes. Conversely, the US can pretty much keep doing what it is now doing, just letting the numbers get bigger, for a very long time. America's problems are social and structural, not financial.

The wealth of the US is hard to imagine from the perspective of Pakistan. Microsoft, Google, Facebook, our banking system, all kinds of industrial firms, aren't going anywhere anytime soon. American tax rates are the lowest in the Western world. If tax rates increased even marginally, the US's financial problems would be greatly diminished.

You want to fantasize there's finally going to be some big apocalyptic showdown with the US in which the big bad rich country is going to be humbled by China and Pakistan (and maybe also Indonesia, if you want to get a little fancy?)

It's simply not going to happen.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

But many analyst stated that if the debt is not controlled and reaches 25 Trillion , the civilian institutes will crumble due to Banking crisis. Eventually the folks owning the debt might want to sell the debt and recover their currency or monetary value which they invested in USA

Housing in USA the property value will crumble to match that of third world country due financial crisis , most people 30-40% in USA don't have saving accounts they invest in their homes , when home prices will crash their capacity to take out loans under their Home would also reduce greatly

Due to the impeding crisis , we now see on Media effort to call to end "Advance guns" from being sold to people from a fear that militias might form when civil war may commence. That is why every 2-3 months we hear calls for ban on weapons. Traditionally Americans are known to keep "stash" of all kind of weapons in their homes / sheds or other places of interest (Hobby & pride of gun ownership)

There are already signs that Black community is pressuring to gain their autonomous state or moving towards it , eventually the protests will turn into demand for new state specially when financial crunch will take place. We now see more instances of black teens being killed by cops or other people or authority which is eventually going to turn into a civil war movement

 

[Aestu]

But many analyst stated that if the debt is not controlled and reaches 25 Trillion , the civilian institutes will crumble due to Banking crisis. Eventually the folks owning the debt might want to sell the debt and recover their currency or monetary value which they invested in USA

The US economy is not a microcredit loan. If the T-bills lose some of their value, the only losers will be the ones who hold them. The US has fundamental wealth and that isn't going to change because some people are jealous of it.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

What if the T-Bill users sold their assets when the value is high , and bought gold in open market and transferred it back to their own countries

I mean 18 Trillion Dollars is a huge number

 

[Aestu]

What if the T-Bill users sold their assets when the value is high

I don't know, you tell me. Do you even know what a T-bill is?

 

[Indika]

The debt is paper, mainly in the form of T-bills. The US can wipe the debt out with the flick of a pen simply by printing currency or cancelling the notes. Conversely, the US can pretty much keep doing what it is now doing, just letting the numbers get bigger, for a very long time. America's problems are social and structural, not financial.

Agreed, until dollar is the king there is no touching US economy. China is partially responsible for it they should be given honorary award for that.

merican tax rates are the lowest in the Western world.

taxes including social security and everything hits 40% which is high compared to india where we pay 33%.

 

[Aestu]

taxes including social security and everything hits 40% which is high compared to india where we pay 33%.

"Western world"

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

I am obviously concerned , becasue back in 2008 , the banks in USA almost went out of business

California state and Detroit I think applied for Bankruptcy , meaning they could not pay government bills or "Retirement" pension all gone that is already happening in USA

What does the greek crisis tells you , you may have money in bank but it might become useless or goverment may just take it all out as payment for debt for national cause.

 

[Aestu]

I am obviously concerned , becasue back in 2008 , the banks in USA almost went out of business

You don't understand the American economy. The cause was consumer debt, not the national debt. This was and is America's big economic problem. If the banks had gone out of business, it would have been a great thing for the US, because then we would have the opportunity to restructure the economy the way it should be.

 

[Viper0011.]

The debt will eventually force US to start third world war to cancel the debt

There may be other, REAL valid reasons if the WWIII REALLY needed to be started by the US . You have the slightest clue about US's wealth? Just to give you ".001%" idea? Between Microsoft, GE, Chevron, ATT, their worth is about a trillion dollars ( and I just named 4 out of thousands) . If you take the top 10 US businesses, you cross $ 2 trillion of assets and worth!! Between Fidelity investments and Citi Group (just TWO companies from the Financial sector), they manage assets and securities worth over $ 2.5 Trillions!! So we don't need a world war. We are doing great without it

The World War will be started by countries who "think" they are super powers and want to act as such, in realty, they don't even have the ability to feed their people properly for over a couple of months. But their leaders will show off their military forces and will project them as if the world hasn't seen anything better.

You don't understand the American economy. The cause was consumer debt, not the national debt. This was and is America's big economic problem. If the banks had gone out of business, it would have been a great thing for the US, because then we would have the opportunity to restructure the economy the way it should be.

Do you have ANY clue what your statement actually means? These "banks going out of business" would mean wiping out the entire American financial system, people's pensions, retirements, homes, mortgages, and foreign investments worth trillions!!!!

Our economic system floats the world. Where do the Chinese, the Middle Easterners, and the Russians, etc, invest into the most??? Your very own, the financial system of the United States of America !!

So why would you have these crazy ideas about "shutting down the banks"?? What you just suggested is, if the entire GPS system fails, we'd learn to re-use maps and then may be develop a better GPS system. Now, why would we want to head back to the 80's, when we are 4 decades ahead, in 2015??