Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with nationaldebt

Cutting up the government's visa card

greytape — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 06:45:23 -0800

Why don't large organisations make more use of capital investment? Why don't governments and charities take advantages of returns on invested capital? An example, Oxfam receives $1000 dollar donation, they spend it immediately. If they invested it, and instead spent the 5% dividend each year, then wouldn't they be doing more good in the long run? Do any charities do this, and if not, what are the reasons why they don't?
On a related side note, I'm curious as to why governments don't do this too. Instead governments are always colossally in debt. Wouldn't it be a much better idea to store up a large surplus of capital invested in business? Hell, we could even stop paying taxes, right?

History of U.S. national debt

Doohickie — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 11:20:27 -0800

Can anyone help my find a chart or data that shows U.S. national debt as a function of time, especially with correlation to presidential administrations? I've looked but it's like trying to find a needle in a hay stack on Google. If I could find national debt by year (at least for the 20 Century), I could do the rest. Thanks. No, it's not for a homework assignment; I'm too old for that sh1t.

I need something bigger than withholding good beer.

Kickstart70 — Mon, 06 Nov 2006 09:41:51 -0800

When it comes time for the ramp-up to the 2008 Presidential elections in the U.S.A., what can a Canadian do to promote his/her viewpoint other than babble on the internet? Are there any laws prohibiting foreigners from being involved in the election promotions or process? Now that the generic question is out of the way...every time the people south of me (warning, impending metaphor) fart, I'm forced to hold my nose. Because of our extremely intertwined economies, we suffer for the foolishness of the American government. Political grandstanding over issues (like the softwood lumber fiasco) end up costing Canadian jobs and undue hardship.

At the same time, our political leadership on such issues has basically been telling us that we should be thankful for the opportunity to grab our ankles and think of Old Glory (esp. the previous administration, but not completely excluding the current).

So, what can a Canadian actually DO to make a difference in these disputes, as far as trying to ensure those wishing to be elected know what impact of their foolishness actually is?

The National Debt's APR?

gsteff — Thu, 04 Nov 2004 12:02:22 -0800

What interest rate does the U.S. pay on the national debt, and is that number likely to change as the debt increases?