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US National Debt Passes $17 Trillion — That’s $53,769 Per Person

national debt [1]

Image source: Heritage.org

The government shutdown actually helped increase the national debt, as it jumped a record $328 billion [2] the day after the shutdown ended and passed $17 trillion.

The reason for the big day of borrowing was that the Treasury Department was shut down for two weeks and unable to issue treasury bonds because of the battle on Capitol Hill. To make up for the two weeks without bonds, the department had to issue two weeks’ worth of debt at once.

How big is the debt? If you stacked $17 trillion in $1 bills, it would stretch to the moon [3] and back – twice.

A threat to national security

Countries worldwide are taking note of America’s debt.

“The problem (in America) is an absolutely unsustainable level of indebtedness,” Liam Fox [4], the former British defense minister, told the Heritage Foundation. “The problem is in the western economies which are up to their necks in debt and if we don’t do something about it we’ll drown in that debt.”

New book reveals how to keep this “gangster” economy from murdering your money… [5]

The $17 trillion US national debt is actually larger than the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) — the amount of goods and services America produces every year. In 2012 the US GDP was $15.68 trillion.

Fox noted that all the major Western countries, including Britain, have unsustainable levels of debt. He pointed out that Britain now spends more on debt repayment than on its military and foreign aid budgets combined. Fox believes that the same thing will soon happen in America.

Admiral Mike Mullen [6], the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said America’s debt is “the single biggest threat to our national security.” Mullen told Forbes he believes that the national debt will diminish America’s international standing and influence.

How the national debt could hurt your family

The national debt is out of control and a threat to the future of every American. Here are a few facts about the national debt, and the menace it poses composed by Off the Grid News [7] and the Heritage Foundation [8]:

Americans need to pay attention and start taking steps to protect their families’ economic future, Liam Fox said.

“The American people are being overtaxed so the government can over borrow,” Fox said.

Hide Your Gold [11]