Remember when Republicans wanted to curb government spending? Remember when there was bi-partisan support for eliminating the deficit and lowering the national debt? It would seem that few of our leaders remember since government spending (and debt) has exploded since 2000.
As our federal debt gets close to our $11 Trillion Dollar GDP, it seems like our government officials have completely forgotten about saving some money for real problems in the future but I hope that issue comes back in the next election.
Clinton Brings Debt Worries to the Fore
March 5, 2007
Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Clinton, sounding a theme likely to recur among 2008 presidential hopefuls, is warning about the "economic vulnerabilities" posed by foreign interests owning large amounts of U.S. debt.
In remarks on the Senate floor and a letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Mrs. Clinton said President Bush's economic policies have contributed to an "erosion of U.S. economic sovereignty." She also said it is "undeniable that the exponential growth of foreign debt in the last six years has undermined our economic standing."
Currently, the U.S. imports more goods than it exports from places like China, resulting in a trade deficit, and it borrows heavily from abroad to finance its domestic investment. Foreign interests own about $2.2 trillion of U.S. Treasury securities -- or about 52% of the public debt not held by the U.S. government, compared with about 20% in the early 1990s, during the Clinton administration. The U.S. has come to rely on foreign capital because Americans don't save enough to finance the nation's domestic investment.
