Here's some numbers...

$14 Trillion- estimated debt

$13 Trillion- projected new debt by 2021, assuming wars end, tax cuts expire, and economy grows at 5%/yr, and that our debt rating remains AAA.

$29 Billion- Monthly payment to service our debt

$65-90 Billion- Monthly trade deficit.

$10 Trillion- Projected new debt by 2021, assuming newest debt plan is passed.

I've been thinking for a while now... This is unsustainable. Call it a grand revelation, but it seems the economy is going to the crapper regardless of what plan Washington passes. Worst of all, it seemed that congress was more concerned about when the next debt negotiation would be... before or after the next election... than if it actually solved the debt problem (arguably, that was the only difference between the original Reid (D) and Boehner (R) plans).

For the record, it isn't solved. The president has already made a number of comments to the effect of "I don't need to be re-elected." But if you know anything about body language, it seemed more like he was speaking to himself than the public.

And it's no wonder... the Bus is about to go off the cliff. If the standard of living drops substantially while a president is in office, it kills his re-election chances and deals a crippling blow to his party. At this point, we can't avoid a lower standard of living... either by increased inflation/ reduced consumer power, or by a reduction in government services. Our standard of living will, whether we like it or not, re-adjust to reflect the productivity of America. Americans are enjoying 14 Trillion more in wealth than we, arguably, should be, and once the credit lines are cut off, we'll have to start paying for it.

Obama is not stupid. I ask myself, "would this man rather be known as the one-term president who tried valiantly to save the economy but was unable to, or as the two-term president that presided over the collapse of America as the world power?"

After all, if the Republicans control the house, senate, and presidency when the proverbial feces hit the fan, won't that basically wipe that party out of existence? From a political perspective, wouldn't handing them this hot potato be the best thing for the Democrats to do?

PS. Sorry for the picture. You can only do so much with Paint.