VIDEO: Students shocked by their share of the national debt
The debt ceiling debate, out of control federal spending, higher taxes...what does it mean for future generations?
The federal government’s suspension of the borrowing limit has expired and Congress will now need to deal with over $18 trillion in national debt by either facing the unlikely scenario of default or by passing a new spending bill that avoids a government shutdown.
But what does all that mean to the average person? Ultimately, the American taxpayer is on the hook for whatever outcome Congress chooses.
The answer is of course, an increased burden on future generations to pay off America’s seemingly insurmountable amount of outstanding debt.
So what does the average person think of their federal-debt liability?
WATCH: Students Shocked By Their Share of the National Debt
Campus Reform hit the streets of Charleston, South Carolina, and plugged the birthdate of interviewees into the Senate Budget Committee’s lifetime share of the national debt calculator.
“Holy s**t,” one Millennial said when it was revealed that his liability surpassed $800,000. “The generation that’s in office right now isn't thinking about the people that are up and coming.”
“That’s messed up man,” an older gentleman said when told that President Obama has increased the national debt over 70 percent, nearly $8 trillion, in the last six years.
“Tell Obama to get out of the White House,” a group of feisty ladies said after learning that every baby born today inherits an individualized lifetime debt-share in excess of $1.5 million.
The Republican Senate Budget Committee website highlights our country’s growing debt noting that “[t]he national debt represents both an immediate and a long-term threat to the United States’ status as the world’s premier economy.”
“But as dangerous as the debt is now, it is on track to grow twice as large as the nation’s entire economy by 2035.”
According to estimates, an individual citizen’s share of the nearly $18.2 trillion in outstanding debt equates to $56,716.65. The number becomes a comically large $1.1 million when factoring in the over $126 trillion in unfunded liabilities accumulated by the federal government.
Follow the author of this article on Twitter: @CalebBonham