The debt nobody cares about

"Now as Speaker of the House, debt has become just another four letter word which nobody seems to mention. That nobody seems to care about."

It really does not seem like that many years ago. Paul Ryan was considered to be a hero of the fiscally concerned. A true budget hawk. When asked about the Simpson-Bowles budget plan from years ago, Ryan thought it was a "good start". Then he was selected to be a part of Romney's ticket. And the debt issue became muted. Now as Speaker of the House, debt has become just another four letter word which nobody seems to mention. That nobody seems to care about.

As of this morning, our national debt stands at $19,291,393,700,000 (and growing). Our unfunded liabilities in this country stand at $102,632,090,000,000 (and growing). And our student loan debt (which the Democrats would like to see go away) stands at $1,37T (and growing).

Now for the life of me, I don't understand the why and how of our debt. I would think that out of the midst of 300 million people, a champion would rise up. Someone who sees the toxic nature of having this much debt and unfunded liabilities. That this issue would be a MAJOR talking point in the upcoming election. Sadly, nary a word. That is except for Donald Trump saying not too long ago, "I like debt", or "I understand debt", or something like that.

And Hillary, for crying in the beer! She is doing her latest Bernie Sanders imitation. Free everything for everyone at every time. Not a peep about how all this good stuff would be paid for. Except maybe just putting it "on the card" like all the other stuff we have charged. And why not? Nobody cares about the size of our debt. Not our problem. It is our kid's problem. Sucks being them. 

To be fair, our growing debt is the only bipartisan effort Washington seems to work well at. To mention cutting anything from any budget is like destroying a holy grail. So we keep mum. We talk about transgender issues. Or gun control for the terrorists. Or massive trade agreements which few understand. 

A budget champion right now might be a welcomed as the dreaded "turd in the punch bowl". Why is that? That person would have to be a truth teller. And as we know, truth tellers are as scarce as hen's teeth these days.

In Mr. Robot, during one of the final scenes, was a huge group of people, wearing masks and celebrating the take down of the world economy. The protagonist was on the sidelines of the group. He began a soliloquy by saying, "For many years our economy has been built on nothing but smoke and mirrors. It has been nothing but a pile of bullshit!"

Amen to that. With this massive debt in the background which we are bequeathing to our kids and grand kids, our economy is built on bullshit. The day traders love it, but the folks on main street continue to suffer. 

So we will enjoy the party while it lasts. We will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow. Or should I say, our kids will.