The national debt just topped $26 trillion — with a “T” — and I could not care less.
That $26 trillion puts every single American in debt to the tune of $76,000, and I could not care less.
That $26 trillion puts every single American household in debt to the tune of $202,000, and I could not care less.
Our country is spending $1 billion a day on interest payments alone, and I could not care less.
So help me Rhonda, I spent decades worrying about national debt and deficit. Even when I was a liberal Democrat, I thought it was insane for our country to spend more money than it was taking in. During the late 90s, when then-President Bill Clinton and then-House Speaker Newt Gingrich put an end to deficit spending, I was thrilled.
And then along came President George W. Bush and his wars that spent trillions of dollars we didn’t have to liberate people who did not want to be liberated, and trillions of dollars we didn’t have rebuilding countries that didn’t want to be rebuilt…
And then along came President Barry Obama, who spent trillions of dollars on — what the hell did he spend all that money on?
And now President Trump is carrying on the legacy of trillion dollar annual deficits, and I surrender.
For two years, between 2017 and 2019, Republicans were in charge of the House, Senate, and White House, and still the crazy deficit spending was crazy, still the national debt exploded, and I just don’t care anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I still don’t think it’s a good idea for a country to spend $26 trillion — with a “T” — it doesn’t have. But as I get older, I’m getting a little more philosophical about things, especially things I have no control over, and when you hand Republicans full control of the federal government and the federal government still spends like a drunken sailor with a stolen American Express card in a high class whorehouse… I’m out, I’m done…
Nothing’s going to fix this, so why should I spend even one more minute worrying about something that will never be fixed?
Besides, the national debt is kind of like Global Warming. What I mean is that these deficit hawks keep predicting deficit-doom, but the deficit-doom never arrives. I’m old enough to remember deficit-doom predictions going back to the Reagan years. Here we are, 35 years later, as prosperous as ever.
And then there’s the best part of deficit spending… It keeps my taxes low. All this garbage our politicians waste money on… I don’t have to pay for it. That’s awesome. My taxes have not gone up in decades. In fact, they’ve gone down, which means I’m not paying for Obamacare or the expansion of the welfare state or rebuilding Iraq, or any of that nonsense. Come on, admit it… That really is awesome.
Who’s going to pay for debt?
Not my generation. I’m 54. Future generations will pay for it, which is justice because it’s dumb young people who demand all this insane social welfare spending.
In eight years I’ll be collecting Social Security. In 11 years I’ll be covered by Medicare. And if Republicans try to touch either, I’ll vote Democrat… I started working and paying into Social Security and Medicare 40 years ago, when I was 14. I paid for this. I expect every penny of it.
Do I think Social Security and Medicare are breathtakingly bad ideas? Of course they are. But America has embraced a whole parcel of terrible ideas that will never go away: deficit spending, the whole concept of health insurance, seatbelt laws, gay marriage, public unions, and left-turn arrows — so I could not care less…
This country has $122 trillion — with a “T” — in unfunded liabilities, primarily because of Social Security and Medicare — and I could not care less.
The future no longer belongs to me, which means it’s not my problem…
I grew up in the 70s, 80s, and 90s… and while that era wasn’t perfect, it was still awesome. We were free, baby…
It’s your turn to fight for the future. Make it whatever you want.
Just leave my Medicare and Social Security alone — and even if you don’t I’m covered… You see, I saved my money. I’m by no means rich, but I do have enough squirreled away to point and laugh until I’m 97.
And I was able to squirrel all that money away because deficit spending kept my taxes low.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.
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