Although we have had terrible wind and rain storms, it’s been a quiet hurricane season on the East Coast so far this summer, but hurricane season isn’t over until well into the fall, so we on the Atlantic seaboard keep our fingers crossed. Not so in the West due to the effects of El Niño which is supposed to be stronger this year due to the warming climate. But lots is going on while we are concerned about the weather.
This week we in the US managed to hit the $40 trillion mark in national debt. This, of course, during an administration that said it wanted to keep spending in check. The spending kept in check will only create a greater divide in our Nation as the wealthy and corporations get tax cuts while the middle class bear the brunt.
What does it mean to have $40 trillion in national debt? We should look at who buys our debt. China invests heavily in U.S. Treasury bonds to keep its own export prices low, which disproportionately affects our own exports abroad. We should look at who buys what and consider revamping a tax policy so the wealthy and corporations pay enough to bring downthe debt.
Prayer for the Day
Caught by competing interests; O God,
We ask your guidance for our lives;
Trapped by the chaos of the lives we lead;
We look for respite for our unsettled minds.
Make us servants of your truth, beacons of your mercy,
Living and sharing your love with all.
In the name of the One who shares his life with us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
I have never been a deficit hawk, and I’m not about to change my religious affiliation now. But whatever we think of debt and deficits, there is one point that should be very clear: It has been run up almost entirely due to Republican tax cuts and their inept management of the economy.
Dean Baker, Center for Economic and Policy Research
Just INTEREST on this debt is now sucking up more of our public money than even the military and Medicare. DC Republicans are leaving our kids a colossal mess to clean up.
U.S. Rep Chris Deluizio (D-Pa)
Wealth hastily gotten will dwindle, but those who gather little by little will increase it.
Proverbs 13:11