The 2009 Fiscal Stimulus Fiasco

PR Log (Press Release) – Jan 07, 2009 – The US Debt Clock this morning shows a deficit of $10.6 trillion. Since there are 305 million U.S. citizens, this averages out to $34,841.86 each.

During the past months Americans have reduced spending by $400 billion a year, or $1300 each.  At this rate, assuming no additional debt accumulation*, the US could be in the black in 27 years.

While this may sound like a long time, 30 years is the duration of the average home loan: in other words, 30 years is a reasonable time length for paying off a large debt.

Yet, at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association, January 3-5, 2009 in San Francisco, CA, there was a strong sense that more government spending (often called "fiscal stimulus") is the answer.

Martin Feldstein, a conservative who is a Harvard economist and former economic adviser to President Reagan, said, “While good tax policy can contribute to ending the recession, the heavy lifting will have to be done by increased government spending.”

You don't have to be an economist, politician, or mathematician to grasp the reality that $1300 per person per year, along with government constraint, could eliminate this debt in a reasonable period of time.

If the government would hold the line or reduce spending (preferably to the same degree as have home owners across this great land), the numbers show that we are 1.5 generations or less from being debt free as a country.

*The average daily deficit increase since Sept. 2007 is $3.50 billion per day, or $11.15 per person per day.