Not My Debt? How the National Debt Affects Wisconsin Paychecks
🎵 This debt is our debt… from California to the New York island… 🎵
The National Debt just grew to over 30 trillion dollars. That’s… 75% of the amount of physical money there is on the entire planet.
But, it's no big deal. This is all just Monopoly money, right?
Wait! Hold on to that Boardwalk and DO NOT PASS GO!
The national debt definitely affects Wisconsinites.
Here’s the five things you need to know about it and what you can do:
- 🤑📈What even is “National Debt?” - it’s your elected officials taking out loans faster than a millennial getting a PhD in underwater basket weaving. And we spend over $900 million on interest per day… with even less of a solid plan to pay it back than the aforementioned Doctor Wetbasket.
- What even is “National Deficit?” - It’s different from debt–It’s the difference between what the federal government spends and the tax money it takes in every year. That difference (aka. deficit) currently sits at $2.77 trillion for the year of 2021.
- 😤💸Is this a new problem? Here’s what it comes down to: The revenue coming through our tax system isn’t enough to cover the spending bills passed on by lawmakers. Now, back in the rosy days of the year 2000, the federal government had a surplus of $236 billion and the national debt was less than $6 trillion. We were spending more than we were taxed… but it wasn’t as bad as right now. But then what happened? Great Recession, government spending, COVID relief, stimmy checks, small biz loans, extra unemployment payments… The list goes on and on.
- 🔪👛Does it affect my Paycheck? Yes. Predictions vary, but it looks like in the next 6 years the average family of four will earn $4,000 less, and in the next 30 years, they’ll earn $16,000 less. Our country owes $90k per American citizen. Which, since politicians at least have the common sense to not send each of us a bill for that amount tomorrow, they’ll need to either a) raise taxes and issue more bonds, or b) spend less money. The latter means making changes to big, expensive programs like Social Security, which is already struggling.
- 🧾👀What are you gonna do about it? Don’t trust that Social Security will be around for you. Figure out how much money you'll need for retirement and save or invest accordingly and ASAP. Next, look up all the tax deductions & credits available to you and file early! Last of all, increasing mortgage rates mean you could pay more to buy a home. Save up a bigger down payment if you can, and double-check that your credit score is in good shape.
🔥Bottom line: Big debts and big deficits are big problems. Focus on what you can do now (Fact #5) and make sure you vote for what your Paycheck cares about this November! If you like our tips or have some of your own let us know by connecting with us on Social Media and be sure to share this newsletter with any friends & coworkers!
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