Real talk. How do I counter the "children will be left with crushing debt to pay" card? I can only play the "Bush racked it up big" card for only so long. I need a trap card.
Here's how I do it.
1. Fully 60+% of the national debt is held by either the people of the United States or the U.S. government. Those holders are entities like the Social Security Trust Fund, the broad market of U.S. Treasury notes, and the Federal Reserve. So in reality most of the debt, we owe ourselves. I'm pretty sure
we won't call in our debt in such a way that it collapses
our economy.
2. The top 3 non-US debt holders are China, Japan, and Great Britain. Two direct allies (JP/UK) and one cooperative competitor (CH). None of those debt holders are interested in the US economy collapsing either.
3. We're on pace to exit the Great Recession with +1.5-2 GDP growth, greater than almost every other developed nation in the world. And with growth, the total debt becomes a non-factor compared to inflation of the currency, which is also staggeringly unlikely.
4. If at this point, they are still not convinced, tell them Obama's increased the rate of spending growth by the smallest amount since Clinton and Bush 2 increased it by the largest amount since Reagan. So, if you want slower debt/deficit growth, vote Democratic.
