Letter: He wonders if U.S. has reached debt level can’t recover from

TO THE EDITOR: I recently read a very disturbing revelation of America’s economic crisis.

The book was written by Dr. David Jeremiah and is titled “The Coming Economic Armageddon.” America’s national debt is over $13 trillion. If you have trouble grasping how large that amount is, this might help: If you go back in time 13 trillion seconds, it would take you back 416,000 years.

The interest on our national debt is nearly $400 billion and is accruing at $41 million per hour. This means that, for every dollar you and I pay in taxes, over 40 cents is for paying interest on America’s national debt.

If that isn’t bad enough, the national debt is just a fraction of our government’s liabilities. The “invisible debt” is over $107 trillion, which means the total U.S. debt is over $120 trillion. Invisible debt represents all promised current and future Social Security and Medicare benefits, compared to the actual income from taxes. These are unsustainable liability amounts.

Our national debt also threatens our national security. The rate of foreign ownership of American debt is increasing at an alarming rate. How could America have diplomatic negotiations with a country like China, who our government relies on to fund billions of our national debt?

Our government needs to cap spending, reduce entitlements and balance their budget. We need to support politicians that have the courage to tackle these fiscal issues, even if it means financial sacrifice on our part.

As I read this book, I kept wondering if America has already reached a debt level that we can’t recover from.

Tags: hager city, opinion, letters, politics