Your Personal Debt is Worse Than You Thought

HolisticSurvival.comWhile you’re going through your personal finances, adding up all the assets and obligations, don’t forget to tack on another $127,000 in the minus column. That’s the amount of debt incurred on the behalf of every American household by the federal government. Thanks for that, Uncle Sam. Lest you think we’re simply pulling numbers out of thin air, let’s break it down.

While the federal debt has increased every year since 1957, our politicians have really gotten serious about borrowing over the past seven years, doubling our collective debt during that time span alone. It now stands at about $14.1 trillion which, if you divide it by the number of households in America, works out to the aforementioned $127,000 each, and is increasing at the rate of around $13,000 annually.

And that figure doesn’t even include the unfunded portion of Social Security obligations, currently at about $16 trillion (give or take a few billion – with numbers this big we can only estimate). That puts each household in hock to the tune of more than a quarter of a million dollars. “But I don’t really owe that,” you protest mightily. “It’s not personal debt.” While it’s true that no bill collector will ever send you a notice for that amount, consider that this obscene debt load was taken on in the name of the United States taxpayer. That’s you. Kind of makes you feel yucky inside, doesn’t it?

The problem with this whole mess, and reason it’s going to get much worse, is that no one holds the brainiacs at the Treasury Department or the Federal Reserve accountable for the debt. In our eyes, they’re no better than the sub-prime borrowers who bankrupted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac by taking on loans their income had no hope of ever paying back.

How will this extra personal debt of yours ever be reduced? Well, the Treasury can and will probably print more money, which causes inflation, higher interest rates, and undermines the latest Federal Reserve plans to keep the economy from swerving off a cliff. In the meantime, we suggest you keep an eye on your economic survival by getting the heck out of currency based assets like Wall Street stocks and bonds.

The Holistic Survival Team

HolisticSurvival.com

 

 

 

Flickr / Mr T in DC