U.S. NATIONAL DEBT CLOCK

The Outstanding Public Debt as of 28 March 2009 is:

$11,184,000,000,000 ( $ 11.2 trillion)

The estimated population of the United States is 305,400,000 - so each citizen's share of this debt is $36,500.

For the average family of 4 the share is $146,000.

The average family’s share of annual interest on national debt is approx. $7,000.

The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $ 3.86 billion per day since September 28, 2007!

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

Additionally the U.S. annual current accounts trade deficit for 2008 was over $681,000,000,000 ($681 billion), helped a little by the decrease in world oil prices. The US trade deficit was 708.5 billion dollars in 2007.

The major factor in this is the growing U.S. imports of energy (oil, coal, natural gas) and the price increases for these. Florida imports over $50 billion per year in energy imports. This represents a massive outflow of capital from the U.S. economy, making us collectively poorer, and according to the International Monetary Fund(IMF) threatening collapse of the world economy.

In 2007, the primary economic concerns have centered around: high national debt ($9.4 trillion), high corporate debt ($9 trillion), high mortgage debt ($9 trillion), high unfunded Medicare liability ($30 trillion), high unfunded Social Security liability ($12 trillion), high external debt (amount owed to foreign lenders) and a serious deterioration in the United States net international investment position (NIIP) (-24% of GDP),^[6] and high trade deficits. In 2006, the United States has its lowest savings rate since 1933.

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

Foreign-owned assets in the United States increased $346.6 billion in
the fourth quarter of 2007, following an increase of $276.6 billion in the third. U.S. liabilities to foreigners reported by U.S. banks increased $94.9 billion in the fourth quarter, following an increase of $68.4 billion in the third.

Since 1952 the international reserve position of the U.S. has fallen from 50% of the world's total to a 2.4% ratio - - a 95% drop. The decline continues.

• Many other productive nations now have up to 23 times more foreign reserves backing up each of their children than we have backing ours, and their lead is increasing as the U.S. continues with massive trade deficits and record high internal private sector debt ratios, with nil savings. With 5% of the world's population, America consumes over 20% of world imports.

The U.S. is the world's largest debtor, a long fall from being the world's largest creditor when I was a young worker. Americans are increasingly paying taxes to finance the interest on federal bonds held by foreigners. The dollar has depreciated by about 20% since the start of 2002.

• For the past 30 years the U.S. increasingly has been unable to adequately compete internationally to balance its trade with the rest of the world to export sufficient goods to balance and pay for its imports. Massive deficits soared. Even the information technology sector is in deficit, and for the first time food imports exceeded exports.
• The U.S. economy is less independent than prior generations yet one quarter of the economy depends on international trade in goods, 3 times more than before - and foreign entities own more and more of our assets than we do theirs - while our education quality suffers relative to others.
• The merchandise import ratio has soared five times, from 3% of national income in the mid-1960s to today's 16% ratio - - while the export ratio has failed to improve despite numerous devaluations of the dollar.
• As the U.S. manufacturing base declined 60% the economy realized significantly less capacity to produce goods needed domestically or desired internationally - - assisting import ratios to national income soaring 5 times.
• While the U.S. energy production base declined, energy consumption zoomed and the U.S. has become more dependent on imported foreign oil and natural gas than ever before, as graphically shown in the Energy Report. The oil consumption-production gap is a whopping 71%, as consumption soars and production and reserves continually decline. At the time of World War II the US produced all the oil it needed, even exporting to others. No longer.
• For most of the 20th century the U.S. 'wrote' most of the rules for world trade. No longer.
• For a long time the U.S. dollar was unchallenged as the world's reserve currency. No Longer !

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• Year 2005 trade performance produced a $782 billion merchandise trade deficit, the largest negative trade balance in history.
• Cumulative trade deficits since 1985 total $5.7 Trillion - - producing a negative international net worth of $5 Trillion.
• And, these trade deficits are owed to non-Americans - - not to ourselves.
• Our annual international trade deficit is 35% larger than Social Security spending, 50% larger than all defense spending, and 2.5 times larger than Medicare. This International Trade Report, together with the chapter called America's Total Debt Report, proves we are living way beyond our means.

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For decades Americans enjoyed the game of consuming more than we produce, borrowing from the future to make-up the shortfall with unprecedented ratios of domestic and foreign debt increasing much faster than national income. These are dramatic facts, with significant long-term implications for the currency, international economic power, relative standard of living, and possible national security of our nation's children into the future.

This lack of savings and over-borrowing from foreign interests cannot continue forever.

The signal to free-up our economy from debt addiction is clear

http://mwhodges.home.att.net/reserves.htm

Presidents Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II administrations were responsible for all of the historic national debt since WWII.

No other administrations added to the debt.

Presidents and the Federal Debt

White House Data Confirms: Reagan-Bush Administrations
Created Post-WWII Federal Debt
GRAPH OF DEBT HISTORY SHOWING PRESIDENTS

http://zfacts.com/p/461.html

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Cost of Iraq War to U.S. $845,000,000,000 (845 billion) (9-28-08)

Cost share of Tallahassee, Florida $280,000,000

Instead, we could have paid for 83,000,000 children to attend a year of Head Start

we could have hired 11,400,000 additional public school teachers for one year.

we could have health insured 320,000,000 children for one year.

we could have provided 11,000,000 students four-year scholarships at public universities

we could have fully funded global anti-hunger efforts for 19 years

http://costofwar.com/

http://zfacts.com/p/447.html

Total economic impact of Iraq War , over $3 trillion

www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2921527420080302?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&sp=true