Are you willing to donate to the national debt?
U.S. Treasury in Washington (Associated Press)
The nation’s $16 trillion-plus debt has some Americans so worried that they’ve donated nearly $8 million – outside of federal taxes - to help pay it off.
Yes, it’s less than a drop in the bucket, but every little bit helps, according to the Bureau of the Public Debt, which annually accepts such “gifts.” The donations have been going up since the 2008 federal fiscal year, when Americans donated $2.1 million. Last year, $3.2 million was donated, but this year the donations more than doubled to $7.7 million.
According to a CNN report, the first contribution to the national debt was in 1961 when an anonymous estate left Uncle Sam $20 million. A law was passed to accept the money and donations have trickled in ever since. The bureau says $85 million has been donated so far.
Here’s a link to the public debt just in case you want to keep track of it.
And just in case you’re in a giving mood, Uncle Sam wants you to know you can make checks payable to the Bureau of the Public Debt and please note that it’s “a Gift to reduce the Debt Held by the Public.”
Are you in that much of a giving mood this holiday season? Should a check box be added to tax returns for such gifts?
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121 comments Add your comment
News Junkie
November 20th, 2012
8:49 pm
TAX THE POOR!!!! Talk about not paying one’s fair share!
Helnric
November 20th, 2012
9:06 pm
No way! Obama will only find a way to give it away
RGB
November 20th, 2012
9:09 pm
Giving more money to statists yields more statism.
But I would like to see more liberals give money to charity, starting with Plugs and “homeboy”.
Helnric
November 20th, 2012
9:10 pm
As long as entitlements and budgets not cut, I would not
Give them a dime….-and that won’t happen with Obama and the Dems!
seabeau
November 20th, 2012
9:29 pm
As long as voters who don’t pay taxes, can vote to raise taxes on the voters who do pay taxes ,our country will continue to be in the RED!
Naquelle
November 20th, 2012
9:48 pm
If the Dems prevail in reversing the Bush tax cuts and impose higher tax rates on those of us who already pay taxes (the non-moocher class) then we’ll be “donating” whether we want to or not.
Greg Camp
November 20th, 2012
9:57 pm
Donate to the Republican Crater hole , initiated by W? We had a surplus when Clinton left office and it was wasted on tax breaks for the wealthy, Occupation of Iraq and Afganistan, and plenty of dollars to the Industrial Military Complex, as well as the financial institutions who were too big to fail ( and screwed lots of people on the front and backside of the transaction). I’m tired of reading Rush Limbaugh crap on these comments from people stuck in 1982. These are the same people who think the federal government is going to show up and confiscate their weapons. Then again, what do you expect? They voted for two puppets to finish selling the country to the highest bidder and screw themselves in the process. You know what they say, ” You can’t rape the willing”.
Real Deal
November 20th, 2012
10:48 pm
How about they give us our monies worth, they stop wasting money and they stop pandering for votes with money. That would be a good start.
Mishap
November 20th, 2012
11:11 pm
reality check,
Pray tell exactly what did I say that’s dumber? The only thing I’ve stated is that yes our entitlements suck but our deficits weren’t created only in the last 4 yrs. We have decades of rampant spending on both sides whether it’s social welfare or corporate welfare. I don’t have a lot to gain from higher taxes and I’m not rocking an EBT card. My effective federal tax rate alone is ~20% after all deductions and while I’m not in the 1%, I am in the top 5% already and have no intentions of stopping working just the gov’t doesn’t go my way every time.
lexi
November 21st, 2012
9:13 am
There are several “misconceptions” reflected by and repeated in some of these posts that are worth addressing, again.
First is the notion that because the country enjoyed a surplus during the Clinton years that he “created” that surplus. That is a classic post hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy of logic(after this, therefore necessarliy because of this). Clinton was the beneficiary of the greatest period of economic expansion of the century, resulting in higher tax collections, whose catalyst was the reduction of marginal tax rates and simplification of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Reagan legislative achievement. Clinton’s spending urges were also constrained by the “Contract with America” congress which was swept into power during the midterms, as a result of Hillary’s efforts to socialize medicine during the first Clinton term. That Congress and Clinton also enacted NAFTA which greatly expended trade, much to the chagrine of the unions.
Someone also repeated the muddled assertion that we ought to consider and regard social security retirement and veterans’ benefits the same as other transfer payments. Social security retirement benefits are a consequence of “contributions” paid by workers during their working lives, and veteran’s benefits are forms of deferred compensation for their sacrifices. EBT, subsidized housing, medicaid, Obama phones and similar means test “benefits” are rewards for breeding fast and voting correctly. Lumping all together is insulting.
Similarly, takers love to argue that even though they don’t pay income taxes, many pay social security, medicare and sales takes (”embedded”), so they are “taxpayers.” True, but many, including illegal aliens, get “refundable income tax credits” which are cash payments from the federal government “refunded” when they file tax returns (though they don’t pay federal income taxes to begin with). Those credits are designed to offset the social security and medicare withholding that those wage earners [temporarily] pay. Again, if one is not paying income tax, one is not too worried about increases in income tax rates, as long as the benefits continue to flow.
Our current budget crises are caused by enormous increases in government spending to buy votes, which far outstrip the increased tax collections which resulted from the “Bush Tax Cuts.”
Markoo
November 21st, 2012
10:27 am
No, not yet.
Dontating to pay off the debt while spending is out of control is like handing someone meth so they don’t have to buy it off the street corner.
Once spending is under control, I’ll gladly add a little extra to my tax burder to pay down the debt.
Ron Burgundy
November 21st, 2012
10:49 am
I will donate some methane gas to the cause.
rbd
November 21st, 2012
10:55 am
Lexi, great post.
Bill
November 22nd, 2012
11:08 am
Yes I would donate but only if we cut congress in HALF. They caused this mess by being slaves to lobbyists and we don’t need almost 600 of them. Start there. Half of them would be a lot more efficient. Also eliminate all their special benefits and put them on social security and medicare like the rest of us and kill the deal that pays them for life for 2 years of service. Then I’ll donate to reduce the debt.
JENNY
November 22nd, 2012
2:00 pm
How much of the stimulus money did Obama put in his pocket? How much did he get from
Solyndra as a kick back. Plus all the other bailouts. Why else would he do it? For the kick
back of course. He is a bum to the nation. I will be glad when he goes down the drain. Watch the movie 2016 and see what a bum he is and you will throw up. How did our nation ever think he was a good candidate for pres for our country. Makes me sick!
JENNY
November 22nd, 2012
2:04 pm
My taxes are misspent. No. Create jobs and there will be money from taxes. This country
is going down the tube with BamBam in office.
Sick & Tired of Obama
November 22nd, 2012
2:11 pm
This country is going to hell in a hand basket. Hell NO. Bama is raping this country. He is
padding his own pocket. I agree he needs to make more jobs, however, all the businesses
are closing because he is causing them to close. He is ANTI-AMERICAN. HOW LONG DOEs
IT TAKE FOR THIS COUNTRY TO WAKE UP AND GET OFF WELFARE, FOOD STAMPS AND ALL THE OTHER FREEBIES. I donate every day with wasted tax money. Sorry!
Adrianne
November 23rd, 2012
5:20 pm
Maybe the millionaire Bushes’ should donate since both created three unfinanced wars. Let’s not forget Dick Cheney who benefited from the war with his company, Haliburton.
guest
November 24th, 2012
12:23 pm
are you kidding? that would just be more money for the Government to waste
Taxed Enough
November 25th, 2012
8:31 pm
I already give to Food Stamps, WIC, subsidized housing, Medicaid, free cell phones, EITC, TANF and 75 other giveaway programs. That’s enough.
Frank
November 26th, 2012
1:46 pm
True Talk
November 20th, 2012
3:22 pm
A 25% wealth tax should be applied annually to any trust fund valued at over $3 million. If more than one trust is in the name of anyone, 35% of all additional trust funds, regardless of their value.
A 25% wealth tax should be applied annually to any estate valued at over $3 million.
If anyone has assets in overseas accounts, they should be taxed at annually at 40% of their value.
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That’s easy to say until it is you who owns a multi-million dollar trust fund. The grass is suddenly browner when it directly hits your wallet, but greener when it’s someone else’s money.