Will the Piper Ever Come Calling?

   Is it illusion, or can this country of ours continue forever to find its prosperity by running up a national debt?
  Is it illusion or wisdom? The leaders of our nation, it would seem, think it wisdom. Every time the economy begins to toddle, they inject borrowed money into it. Economic stimulus, they call it.
   Does perpetual deficit spending work? Have we found the equivalent of the fountain of youth? Spend, spend spend, and all our troubles will go away?
   Or, are we a nation deluded?
   To break this down, compare it to family finances. If a family borrowed heavily enough, it might be able "afford" a yacht, a Mercedes, and monthly vacations all over the globe. Looking at this family, you would conclude they prospered, for they would have all the nice things of life.
   Even so, our prosperity as a nation has come to rely on various forms of borrowing. Our new tax code might even be an example, for if we all truly are to be taxed less, that should translate into less income to pay our bills.
   That's borrowing. That's deficit spending. You are getting your prosperity, but will the piper ever come calling?
   And that, you say, is where family spending and government spending differ. The family will have to pay its bills, but the government never will. It can spend, spend, spend  and never have to pay the piper.
   I can think of maybe a few ways families might get away with getting something for nothing. But, generally, the time comes when their bills have to be paid. Exceptions might come with filing for bankruptcy, and paying limited installments that will never add up to enough to pay off medical bills. There is perhaps yet another exception, and I will mention it shortly. Generally speaking though, when the piper plays, you dance to his music, and he comes calling with a price. The piper simply must be paid.
   What about governments? Or, at least this one particular government, the United States? Will it ever have to pay up? Or, is there something magical going on here?
   Well, maybe the scenario the U.S. is in is not so different than what we might encounter in family finances. Sometimes credit cards require you to make payments that don't go far beyond paying the interest. The credit agencies are quite happy letting your card maintain a balance as long as they are collecting the interest.
   So, the interest on the national debt is $266 billion? The CBO estimates that by 2020, our net interest payments will have increased to $644 billion per year. China holds, what, 12 percent of our debt? Russia is investing heavily in our treasury securities (national debt)? The United States owns 29 percent of the world's debt?
   These are not good things. Somehow, I don't think we are too wise. The further we slide into debt, the higher the interest payments will be. Will there be a breaking point, a point at which our ability to pay the interest will be challenged? Will we reach a juncture where we have to go to our Chinese and Russian creditors and ask for mercy?
   I don't know. But, I know I don't like the ship that's sailing and the winds that are wailing. I don't like the piper's music and I don't like him making us dance.
   I've heard the national debt breaks down to $154,000 per taxpayer. I don't like that.