How much debt would we be in if either Obama or McCain came into office?

Some economists say we'd be in debt of TRILLIONS of dollars.

How much debt would we be in if either Obama or McCain came into office?
Your teacher is right -- although it depends over how many years it is calculated. It is trillions.





Here is a good podcast (25 min) analyzing both candidates: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story... It would be good civics education for you.





Don't worry too much. Most of these are campaign promises. I doubt either of these two would get the spending OKed. And they are too smart to ask for it (unlike a certain politician who cuts taxes and then asks america to go shopping in order to support the war.)
Reply:We're already in debt TRILLIONS of dollars (around 7-ish) so barring a complete miracle, that prophecy will be true no matter who gets in.





I'd bet on Obama to do a better job of reducing the rate of increase of the national debt than McCain right now. The republicans used to be the party of fiscal responsibility, but they haven't shown it in decades. The democrats will waste money, sure, but they'll at least pay for it by raising taxes instead of borrowing from China.
Reply:Either way we are still in debt trillions of dollars. The republicans have no idea how to control spending, but the democrats have no idea when it comes to basic economics. We desperately need a new political party in this country, one that understands markets and how world economies function yet doesn't spend money it doesn't have. A political party that sees the benefits of privatization, while still regulating things like rogue financial institutions. Both candidates seem like neat guys, but I don't have much faith in either :-(
Reply:Our national debt is in the trillions. Interest on this debt comes to about 300 billion per year.





Much of this debt is held by foreign countries. With all the money we spend on foreign oil and interest on our debt, pretty soon we're going to run out of money. We will have to declare bankruptcy if we can't keep up our debt obligations.





If you are young, I would be very concerned about the future of your country. Our population is very poorly educated and we are losing our work ethic.





I'll be gone when the riots start.
Reply:i don't know how many trillions but Bush put us in this predicament and mccain is just going to carry on what bush did so do we want 4 more years of that? we are already in the toilet as it is under bush