Monday, February 16, 2009

Total Public Debt Outstanding---A Tale of Two Presidents


Ever wonder about Federal Public debt?

You can think of the total public debt as accumulated deficits plus accumulated off-budget surpluses. The on-budget deficits require the U.S. Treasury to borrow money to raise cash needed to keep the Government operating. We borrow the money by selling securities like Treasury bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds to the public.

The public debt is what we--as citizens of the United States--owe. In other words, the amount we have allowed our elected officials to borrow. Everyone knows the federal government takes in revenue in the form of taxes and other receipts. The difference between revenue and the amount that is actually spent equals the Public debt. This is also known as Treasury Debt.
  • Public debt outstanding January 20, 1993--4,188,092,107,183.60
  • Public debt outstanding January 19, 2001--5,727,776,738,304.64
  • Under the Clinton administration Public debt increased by $1,539 Trillion

  • Public debt outstanding January 19, 2001--5,727,776,738,304.64
  • Public debt outstanding January 20, 2009--10,626,877,048,913.08
  • Under the Bush administration Public debt increased by $4,899 Trillion
Total outstanding Treasury Debt as of February 12, 2009 is $10,759,196,587,563.44

If you would like to pay off part of the national debt you can write a a check and send it to:

Attn Dept G
Bureau Of the Public Debt
P. O. Box 2188
Parkersburg, WV 26106-2188

You can look at the numbers above and decide for yourself if the borrowing habits of the Federal government--we the people--effects stock prices. Your IRA and 401 k probably did very well from 1993-2001, not so good from 2001-2009.

Feel free to comment.

If you would like to know the total amount of treasury debt outstanding each day, or learn more about--The Debt to the Penny and Who Holds It--go here.
Subscribe to All American Investor via Email


More on All American Investor


No comments:

Post a Comment