Please help with a question I have on the Economy/Debt in the U.S. and how it affects me??

Hi Everybody,

I am confused on how the National debt works...How exactly does it affect me being a regular Construction Worker that pays rent instead of Owning and have bought everything with cash/debit??? I don't owe any money and don't have any credit cards at the moment and I never invested in stock. My grandfather used to tell me about debtors prison so I never bought anything I didn't have money for. If the Economy crashes what happens to the person like me? Does the government start taking more taxes out of my check??Can they legally make me work for less even though I don't actually owe any money?? or is it gonna be like if I take a loan on something my interest would be through the roof? I have no idea how it would trickle down and am not so much as worried as I am interested to know the effects. Thanks for any help!

I'm with you,I don't owe anything other than rent and utilities,but I don't really know how this effects us other than no cash flow once the jobs dry up,which is bad enough,I've prepared for the worse and always hoped for the best.
All I can tell you is be prepared ,you never know when you might have to "bug-out".

Originally posted by stillsearchin
I'm with you,I don't owe anything other than rent and utilities,but I don't really know how this effects us other than no cash flow once the jobs dry up,which is bad enough,I've prepared for the worse and always hoped for the best.
All I can tell you is be prepared ,you never know when you might have to "bug-out".

Yeah I was thinking ok maybe the jobs won't be there an that doesn't scare me much..Then I started wondering can the government make me work under threat of jail?? if there is no work and no money to pay fish and game am I still going to be allowed to fish for survival?

yes you will be taxed more. also the value of your cash will plummet, meaning everything will become more expensive. I dont know how renting works, but if it is through contract, then I dont think you would have to pay more since the price was agreed to beforehand. But governments might increase property taxes or something similar to where it would cost either yu or the house owner more to own that house which sets off a domino effect of needing more money and not having it until one day the government/banks own that house. Plus there will probably still be an inflated housing market which makes it difficult to own or even rent a place considering your money is worth less than the paper it is printed on.

All I can say is, if you don't have any savings, you rent and do not have any credit cards, then you are fine.

The National Debt is pushed in our faces to make us feel concerned. I live in the U.K and this is being pushed more and more.

I didn't contribute to this, so they can continue to try and worry me, but I am not either.

I am not a banker, an estate agent or insurance broker, so what do I have to be concerend about?

What can they take from me?

Oh yeah, my freedom. But then again, that was taken from me as soon as I was born!!!

Originally posted by NewsWorthy

Originally posted by stillsearchin
I'm with you,I don't owe anything other than rent and utilities,but I don't really know how this effects us other than no cash flow once the jobs dry up,which is bad enough,I've prepared for the worse and always hoped for the best.
All I can tell you is be prepared ,you never know when you might have to "bug-out".

Yeah I was thinking ok maybe the jobs won't be there an that doesn't scare me much..Then I started wondering can the government make me work under threat of jail?? if there is no work and no money to pay fish and game am I still going to be allowed to fish for survival?

a lot of places require licenses or memberships to fish/hunt, and there is usually a limit to the amount you can bag for yourself. imagine if the amount of people hunting increased tenfold for the same reasons as you. of course the government is going to have to step in and install something similar to a ration of natural resources. maybe, not of course. thats pessimistic thinking. but i think thats already sort of the direction we've been heading since the EPA came around. the way they would force you to work is if something similar to what i said before occured and the government nationalized agriculture and began to demand for GM produce in order to meet the demands of the people....anyways they would probably compartmentalize the work force and direct people into certain professions under threat of unemployment and starvation.

reply to post by NewsWorthy


From my limited understanding it effects all of us from the top down. Though it usually hurts the poor more.

Ok our nations debt is promised money. Its money our govt has promised to pay for "goods and services". It's like a giant loan. They pay off the loan through taxes. They tax every monetary transaction in the US. When money legally exchanges hands they take a cut. The problem is they promise to pay back more than they take in from "taxes". So the debt continually rises. This means as they get desperate they will tax people more. But seeing as wealthier people can absorb the hurt more they will likely eventually get bigger tax increases than the poor. To make up for their increased taxes they will boost prices in stores; This means food clothing and services cost more for regular people. Your money is now worth less b/c of inflation. Not to mention if they keep printing money your money will be worth even less. Regular people will see the prices of everything going up while they may not get a raise this year if they do I wouldn't bet on it being enough. Oh and that's if they are lucky enough to maintain a stable career.

This is a very simplistic view of what's really going on. I think there are more details to it. but I don't get too deep into it.

Originally posted by asperetty
yes you will be taxed more. also the value of your cash will plummet, meaning everything will become more expensive. I dont know how renting works, but if it is through contract, then I dont think you would have to pay more since the price was agreed to beforehand. But governments might increase property taxes or something similar to where it would cost either yu or the house owner more to own that house which sets off a domino effect of needing more money and not having it until one day the government/banks own that house. Plus there will probably still be an inflated housing market which makes it difficult to own or even rent a place considering your money is worth less than the paper it is printed on.

Ok that makes sense...So basically I'll be just like I am now but with less money coming in and higher rent eventually. What happens if there is more homeless than housed people? I mean if there is like 100,000,000 homes that are empty because nobody has work How are they gonna try an keep people from claiming squatters rights by the millions?

Originally posted by asperetty
yes you will be taxed more. also the value of your cash will plummet, meaning everything will become more expensive. I dont know how renting works, but if it is through contract, then I dont think you would have to pay more since the price was agreed to beforehand. But governments might increase property taxes or something similar to where it would cost either yu or the house owner more to own that house which sets off a domino effect of needing more money and not having it until one day the government/banks own that house. Plus there will probably still be an inflated housing market which makes it difficult to own or even rent a place considering your money is worth less than the paper it is printed on.

Most rentals are on annual contracts if at all and can and will increase regularly to cover costs. A rental will not rent for more than someone can pay and if the rental game becomes not worth it because rent can't cover costs land lords will just let their properties go and there will be nothing to rent.

The big concern for everyone regardless of what they do and don't own, their savings etc is their spending power. You are correct. Your quality of life will drop even if your pay check doesn't as the dollar is devalued due to excess debt and funky government spending.

The debt issue is bad no matter what you own or who you are as the main problem is the devalued dollar. So unless you are getting paid in Swiss Francs I would worry.

Taxes can come in the way of income, property,consumption or sales tax. If You don't make lots of money and rent your home, you are fairly safe from tax increases. Any money You have saved will be worth very little. This is because even though You have not borrowed money, Your Government has done so on Your behalf putting everyone deep in debt, eventually nobody will borrow to the US, then they will print money, and lose standing as the World reserve currency. The US dollar will be worthless. Gold and silver will become the world currency.

Ok now I have a clearer understanding of why its so bad...I guess the trick would be to make it to a place like southern alaska so food and water weren't a issue and all the recreational stuff is at your doorstep.

reply to post by NewsWorthy


Maybe that's why we have these super pigs I've been hearing about. I think we have Japanese carpe* infestations in some of our rivers also. These super predators have been slowly taking over. But that's according to tv documentaries so I wouldn't call that source 100% accurate.

Originally posted by NewsWorthy

Originally posted by asperetty
yes you will be taxed more. also the value of your cash will plummet, meaning everything will become more expensive. I dont know how renting works, but if it is through contract, then I dont think you would have to pay more since the price was agreed to beforehand. But governments might increase property taxes or something similar to where it would cost either yu or the house owner more to own that house which sets off a domino effect of needing more money and not having it until one day the government/banks own that house. Plus there will probably still be an inflated housing market which makes it difficult to own or even rent a place considering your money is worth less than the paper it is printed on.

Ok that makes sense...So basically I'll be just like I am now but with less money coming in and higher rent eventually. What happens if there is more homeless than housed people? I mean if there is like 100,000,000 homes that are empty because nobody has work How are they gonna try an keep people from claiming squatters rights by the millions?

well its private property at that point, meaning squatters are trespassing and would be arrested. but I mean, if yoou have more homeless than housed, the issue would not be about housing the homeless so much as toppling the bourgeois heh.

Are you asking how national debt effects your income to living expenses ratio given your circumstances? What part of how our current economic climate and it's effects are you asking about regarding your situation are your confused by? I am in almost the exact same situation and have had to seek out these answers myself and I can appreciate the complexity of it all.

Oh, go look at the history of what happened to Germeny after WWI. It is what we fear will happen here.