US National Debt Reaches $10 Trillion

[pioneer]

The US government's debts have ballooned so badly the National Debt Clock in New York has run out of digits to record the spiralling figure.

The digital counter marks the national debt level, but when that passed the $10 trillion point last month, the sign could not display the full amount.

The board was erected to highlight the $2.7 trillion level of debt in 1989.

The clock's owners say two more zeros will be added, allowing the clock to record a quadrillion dollars of debt.

Douglas Durst, son of the late Seymour Durst - the clock's inventor - hopes to replace the Manhattan clock with its lengthier replacement early next year.

For the time being, the Times Square counter's electronic dollar sign has been replaced with the extra digit required.

For its part, the digital dollar symbol has been supplanted by a cheaper version - perhaps a sign of the times for the American economy.

Some economists believe the $700bn bail-out plan for ailing US financial institutions could send the national debt level to $11 trillion. - BBC

[bol-anon_ko]

symptom of an empire on the verge of collapsing

[Lorenzo]

First and foremost,

The United States needs to make sure that the United States Armed Forces begin our pull-out of Iraq by 2009. The United States Armed Forces has already trained an Iraqi Force of 400,000. They need to start to shoulder their share of the burden and Washington desperately needs to leave Iraq.

We are spending over $10 Billion everyday we are there in Iraq.

In one month alone, the United States spends over $300 Billion just in Iraq alone.

We have been in Iraq since 2003.

What we need to do in the coming 2009 year is to revamp our foreign policy and how we, The United States, deals with the world. The United States needs to start to cooperate and work with its global partners in handling situations and to evade in repeating the unilateralism that has been attributed to the incumbent Bush Administration. Which, in my opinion, has been a failed administration in terms of economic reforms, military revampancy, etc.

I have faith in the USA to take itself out of this hole. God Bless the USA!