Eleven trillion and climbing at a pace that is frightening. I wonder if we really have the true intention of paying it all back as envisioned by our creditors. This is considering the fact that we have shown nothing but trivial efforts in this regard for decades. We keep adding to it by continuing to live at a standard that is above our ability to pay, and we are oblivious to the concept that there is a limit. Over and above the normal hundreds of billions added to the deficit each budget year, we feel compelled to add more to provide economic relief in the form of huge spending programs such as the Stimulus Plan, excess Omnibus spending, private bailouts, mortgage subsidies, as well as the excessively massive proposed Fiscal 2010 deficit which certainly will lead to more of the same in subsequent budget years if approved. This is not by any means an all-inclusive list and we can expect more programs to emerge in the future as well. It is hard to imagine that we will not easily approach a $15 trillion National Debt by the end of this Administrative term if allowed by our creditors, and that is dependent on some very favorable economic projections occurring, which is a stretch at best.

Considering our Government’s propensity to spend on top of the huge deficit that already exists, it makes you wonder what the plan is to repay it. I think people in this country have always ignored the expansion of debt because it has never really affected their daily lives, but this indifference will soon change. We are arriving to the point that the world is not going to endlessly finance our excess, and it may well occur in the very near future as we bathe ourselves in more debt. Upon that occurrence, we are likely to see the true brilliance of our elected officials shine as they proceed to deal with a burden of their creation that has become overwhelming.

Reality will dictate that taxes will have to be raised universally which includes the Government’s recently popular targeted top 5% income earners and the middle class that believed a meaningful tax cut was forthcoming. It will also be inevitable that the printing of money will proceed unabated; this is because the realization will sink in that taxes alone can not cover this monstrous debt while still paying for current Governmental expenditures. Increased taxes and the further cheapening of our money by means of printing will be the Government’s answer to the mountain of debt amassed, and the continuation of spending after the creditors retreat. There are also other actions possible such as the reduction of Government spending which they demonstrate a lack of desire to address and have proven incapable of achieving. Also, simply reneging on the debt that has been accumulated is possible, but this would be too destructive thus not likely to occur unless it becomes the only option. It will prove more expedient to just print the money and deal with its consequences later on down the road.

Complicating the debt issue further will be the tidal wave of entitlement spending coming in the next 20 to 40 years with payments of Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. These entitlements are going to absolutely bury us if serious progress is not made on these programs soon. Every year that goes by without any meaningful change to them is continuing to eat into an ever larger share of the revenue collected. Plus it makes it more difficult to solve because we are losing the benefit of time.

With all the debt that we continue to foolishly accumulate along with the financial disaster coming our way with entitlements certainly provides sufficient doubt of America’s capacity to meet all of these obligations. Could our Government actually have disingenuous intentions regarding our National Debt? Maximizing the cash inflow as long as our creditors will continue to participate and then subsequently settling that debt with severely diminished dollars that were just printed, or even worse, not at all if a catastrophe results. Meanwhile, we continue down the same road of arrogance while our politicians are smiling and stating that America’s best days are ahead – Really? Maybe their lack of concern stems from being able to discount the problem with the knowledge of their planned deceitful response to it.