$9 Trillion in Debt and Counting: The Facing...

Let’s face it, the nation’s budget dilemmas are not the sexiest topic in the world. And while the news that the national debt has hit $9 trillion probably caused a few spit-takes around the nation last month, it’s fair to say the debt has not gotten the same attention as other matters of vital national importance.

But that’s one of the great strengths of the blogosphere – it allows people to speak out about issues that may otherwise be flying under the radar. And in the first Facing Up Blog Carnival we’ve got a great group of bloggers who’ve devoted some thought to this problem. One of the advantages of being a nonpartisan project is that we can get entries from all over the political spectrum. Some are conservatives, some liberals; some think the debt is a huge threat, some think it’s overblown. But all have something interesting to say.

In addition to the blogs who submitted entries, you can always find more news coverage on these issues in the Facing Up Google and Yahoo news feeds. It's a good sign that the national debt was the first question that the Des Moines Register editor asked about in the Republican candidates' debate last night. Also on the news front, The New York Times chose today to editorialize on the presidential candidates and the nation’s finances. The Concord Monitor weighed in as well. It’d be nice to think all this was happening because of the carnival, but…nah. This Associated Press story provoked a lot of commentary, in the blogosphere and elsewhere.

And now the entries, arranged alphabetically by blog title. Thanks to everybody who participated and we hope to see you at the next carnival, which we hope to announce after the holidays.

Cactus at the Angry Bear is by his own admission no fan of the GOP, saying the national debt has increased as a proportion of GDP under all the Republican administrations of the past 30 years. But he also says “it doesn’t have to be that way…there’s still something in the Republican DNA that believes fiscal responsibility is a good thing.”

Julie Fanselow at DemocracySpace comes at “A Million Dollars a Minute” from the perspective of Study Circles, a major player in the civic engagement movement and one with a lot of experience in community work. So what might the debt mean for local community organizers? “A national debt crunch would sharply curtail spending on even basic services and entitlements.”

Econbrowser by James D. Hamilton and Menzie Chinn updates a chart on "The Debt-to-GDP Outlook" and was “only slightly surprised to see that the out-years (still) look pretty grim.”

In “The Iceberg Groweth,” Arnold Kling at Econlog examine the CBO’s analysis of health care costs and points out why “the reason I refer to Medicare as the fiscal equivalent of the Titanic” may be too optimistic.

My Facing Up colleague Bill Hallowell blogs for “Less Partisan Rhetoric, More Solutions - And Stat!", saying "Let’s first stop the blame game, and then let’s work to fix this looming cloud.”

And of course, there’s my contribution on the Facing Up blog, "Sixteen Tons and $9 Trillion in Debt," which draws on the financial and political wisdom of Tennessee Ernie Ford.

The Fundmastery blog, on the other hand, doesn't think the national debt is too problematic, given the total wealth of the country.

We've got three entries from the Heritage Policy Weblog (Heritage is one of the Facing Up partners). Tom Finnigan submitted two posts. In “Tax Hikes: The Wrong Answer to Entitlement Spending,” he says raising taxes to cover entitlement spending would lead to a European-style tax burden, “not one that Americans should want to emulate.” And in “No Quick Fix to Entitlement Crunch,” he says most of the “easy” fixes to entitlements, like increased economic growth or closing the tax gap, are just not going to work.

Another Heritage blogger, Andrew Grossman, in "Deficits Are Not the Problem," says "coming deficits are the symptom that warns us of the disease: the entitlement spending explosion. Ignored or treated improperly, that disease could kill the patient."

MisterE’s whereIstand blog says we should deal with the debt by cutting back military spending and putting the money into education. “Obviously, none of us are smart enough to figure out how to reduce the national debt, that’s why we need to throw some money at school and hope they produce smarter people.”

At Newmark’s Door: Things One Middle-Aged Economist Finds Interesting, Craig Newmark writes "A Note on the Debt" that blames both parties for what’s going on, but also contends that “deficit spending is almost entirely a phony issue.” To him, it’s really about the size and scope of government.

Brett H. Bumeter at the No More Incumbents blog says "You Owe $30,000 in Taxes, Thank Bush for a $9 Trillion Debt" and blames, well, the incumbents. He says the answer is getting involved and holding politicians accountable at the polls. “If you don’t, then pay your $30k bill and don’t complain.”

Joshua Rosenstock at Washington Hotlist gives the carnival a couple of contributions. In “The 13-Digit Elephant in the Room” he challenges the presidential candidates for refusing to deal with the issue, but also points out they all remember what happened to Walter Mondale. Then he questions “Spending Even More Tax Dollars Abroad,” saying “The cause is admirable, but the timing? Not so much.”

Thanks again to everyone who participated in our first blog carnival -- we expect there will be more to come!