In the time it takes you to read this, America's national debt will balloon by an estimated $11.25 million.
As of Friday, the national debt, the amount of money the government has borrowed, stood at a whopping $8.X
In the time it takes you to read this, America's national debt will balloon by an estimated $11.25 million.
As of Friday, the national debt, the amount of money the government has borrowed, stood at a whopping $8.XX trillion - a reflection of the society's buy-now, pay-later culture.
Like its spendthrift citizens, Uncle Sam has been piling on debt to pay for public education, Medicare, the war in Iraq - all without having to jack up taxes today, or cut spending elsewhere.
"We've been able to raise our standard of living now... by spending beyond our income, right now," said Diane Lim Rogers, a research director at the Brookings Institution.
Each year the government pays off some of the national debt if it runs up a budget surplus, or adds to the debt in the case of a federal deficit, like we have today. What follows is a primer on the national debt - why the government borrows, who lends to it, and why Americans should be concerned with the surging debt.
Urvaksh Karkaria/The Times-Union
Why does the government rack up debt?
For the same reason consumers accumulate debt. The government wants to consume now, and pay for it later.
"Politicians try to garner votes," University of North Florida economis