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The Big Piggy Bank

By Pat Racimora on March 3, 2009 at 11:00 AM in National Debt, Stimulus Plan, stimulus tax package

I am watching the little ones outside my window swing like miniature Tarzans on the rings. I smile as I also worry about what awaits them when they are grown. I envy their obliviousness to the adult world, and at the same time feel anger for what this generation has heaped upon their destinies.

The 787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“stimulus package”) creates a debt of about $2,600 for every man, woman, and child (including newborns and those coming along to replace those we lose). But add to that the national pubic debt of 10.8 trillion (as of late February, 2009) and that piles on another $38,000 per head—including those little heads. The counter clicks every second adding interest. Ca-ching….Ca-ching….

I know these figures are not cast in stone because the stimulus package may work. Maybe we will somehow get expenses under control and pay a big hunk of that debt off before these little ones–who are now creating abstract masterpieces with thick crayons–graduate from high school.

We can hold on to that hope, but it’s tough when the unemployment rate goes up every day and the stock market goes down. It’s hard to know what to say to friends who get laid off and are losing their homes.

It’s also hard to imagine what a trillion dollars is and how much better things will have to be to pay off what we owe. But here are a couple of interesting factoids adapted from the
Concord Coalition that help bring some sense of connection with this gargantuan figure:

While there are hundreds of billionaires, even the richest amongst them only has assets equaling about 4 or 5% of a trillion dollars.

Or to put it another way, in 2003, the total economic output of only 7 countries was greater than 1 trillion dollars. That means that our total debt is over 10 times as large as the economies (not just the debt) of all but the 7 largest economies in the world.

So as much as I desperately want these kids–who have now switched from chasing the cat to running after Grandpa–to live the American dream, for now I must simply treasure the music of their laughter.

tek

Actually if you look at the wording of the stimulus bill, not every American will pay the debt. The lower and middle middle classes have permanent tax cuts. There was a big celebration when the stimulus bill went through because the WH announced that Bush’s tax cuts were permanent. Now we find out that only the lower echelons of the economic ladder will retain those cuts. For everyone else, we will bear the entire burden of escalating taxes and no deductions. That will probably drive the productive classes out of this country.
JohnnyB

Good cartoon Tricia:

How much is a Trillion? Found this a week ago:

One Trillion Dollars

Picture someone handing you a ten dollar bill every ten seconds. Now picture that being done around the clock, every ten seconds for 31.7 years. At the end of that time, you would have a billion dollars (that’s billion with a B!)

But since a trillion is a thousand billion, then you would need to get those ten dollar bills handed to you every ten seconds, around the clock, for the next 31,710 years. Then you would have a trillion dollars.
http://www.journalscape.com/X_Zachary_Wright/2007-02-06-18:17/
Rich

Wonderful Cartoon! Where can I get a piggy bank like that?

The national debt will not be paid off by saving. First who wants to give their savings to the government and second who can save that much. The only way it will get paid off is if the economies of the world improve and by doing so keep turning over money. Just like in business you do not get wealthy by saving your inventory. You get wealthy by turning your inventory over and over. We better all hope, Democrats, Republicans and Independents and all of the countries of the world, that the Obama plan works and yet it will only work if we believe in it and get on with our lives, rather then holding our breath.

Rich
Pat Racimora

Yikes–thanks, it’s so hard to wrap our minds around fugures that huge. These little examples help.

Poor little kids! We should be ashamed.
devildog666

Everyone pays the bill; 18 months from now when the purchasing power of the dollar drops to 33 cents we’ll all be suffering.
wodiej

it will only work if we believe in it? That is very naive at best. Either you are young and don’t know any better or very gullible. The wealthy are who create jobs, not the poor and middle class. There are already 40% of people in this country who don’t pay income tax. So why are they getting a tax cut but business and wealthy who create jobs, are getting a tax increase? It’s insane and makes no sense.
http://BREAKINGNEWS.COM Oisafraud

O’economy is the O’shit of our time.
Don X

Great cartoon, Pat, and commentary. The economic issues and the escalating debt are of such staggering proportions, I wonder if anyone in the administration or congress really understands what is going on or how to deal with the problems we face. Each day as the government spends more and more, we seem to slide farther toward a bottomless pit.

The lack of confidence in the Obama administration’s attempts to deal with a multitude of issues at the same time is reflected daily in the enormous slide in the stock market. Wall Street keeps speculating how far we are from “the bottom”. One lonely optimist says the S&P will bottom in the next 2 or 3 days. However, most traders and investors seem confused as to whether to buy or sell, so money is parked on the sidelines in shaky banks or under mattresses. Workers are worried about losing jobs. Homeowners are worried about losing their homes. The short sellers in the market have driven stock prices down as they pocket money and seem to hope the DOW will fall as far as 5500 as predicted by doom and gloom economists. Short sellers make big bucks from a sinking market and the gloomy prospects for resolving economic issues.

The economic problems are now worldwide and won’t be solved by just getting our own economic house in order. We aleo need to coordinate our efforts with those of other countries that affect our own economy.

Yes, Pat, we need to worry about the debt we are heaping on the next generation. In the meantime, enjoy watching the innocents play while they can.
Strawberry

You first.
Strawberry

wodiej, I gotta say if you’re a weathly person paying a shitload of taxes, then you’re too stupid to be in business. And should fail. My brother is a republican and a CPA whose clients are all worth 2 million or more. He laughs when he hears arguments like yours. Taxes may be raised but you forget the million other ways that things are written off. Most of his clients pay much less than you and me. In fact, I’d think you’d puke if you knew about all the schemes, cough cough, laws there are to get rich people out of paying taxes. We had a whole discussion about foundations set up supposedly as non profits but are just a way to keep money circulating at the top. But to be fair, my brother is one of the best in the northwest and is paid quite well for his services. And yes, everything he does is totally legal and above board. Too bad the average joe can’t afford to hire guys like baby bro.
ziggy

Maybe they’re same bottom 40% of the population who own less than two-tenths-of-one-percent of the entire wealth of the nation?

I mean, think about that–40%, who own far less than 1%…

Then you’ve got the richest 1%, who own 35% of everything.

You don’t suspect there might be some sort of a problem here?

Who is likely getting hit the hardest by job losses, medical care costs, the underfunding of social services, etc?

Might that not spell serious trouble unless someone is willing to pay more taxes?
ziggy

I’m not pitching class war. I’m just saying progressive tax rates and more taxes paid on the high end aren’t the horrible injustices some people would like us to think.

http://www.faculty.fairfield.edu/faculty/hodgson/Courses/so11/stratification/income&wealth.htm
Linda Anselmi

Great Toon, Pat!

I like that the personal pig bank is as big as the house. It feels that way to me. I just don’t see how all this spending can be taking us in the right direction. What a mess.
C.S.

You get wealthy by turning your inventory over and over.

And if you have no inventory? For We the Taxpayers, our “inventory” is the money we earn by trading our labor for script (dollars) which we use to purchase inventory. That used to be mostly real estate, an inventory that is now just about worthless or has been seized for debt.

The missing ingredient in this scenario is rebuilding a solid foundation instead of throwing a million sandbags at the insolvency. And that won’t happen until there is accountability from company leadership and their government enablers.

When we traded an industrialized economy, which once generated inventory, for a service economy that did not produce inventor we weakened our economic foundation. Our country, once called the “breadbasket of the world” has been turned into a nation dependent on purchasing the inventories of other nations for survival. This “stimulus” and this leadership won’t be able to fix the problem until they understand the problem and we don’t have time to wait until Soertoro/Obama’s knowledge goes from kindergarten to high school; let alone the complex “college” strategies required to keep us solvent.
solara 7

Good comment. Thanks CS!
ginger411

“I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.”

~ Thomas Jefferson
Ferd Berfle

Great quote. As usual, Jefferson was correct.
http://ksclematis ksclematis

C.S. wrote:
“The missing ingredient in this scenario is rebuilding a solid foundation instead of throwing a million sandbags at the insolvency. And that won’t happen until there is accountability from company leadership and their government enablers.”

My pessimism, knowing some of the history of big business and it’s accountability, tells me that he** will freeze over before that happens. That’s just not the temper of our two-party system as it exists today. Most company leaders and a good many government enablers are themselves multimillionaires and they intend to stay that way.

Great ‘toon, as usual, Pat!!!