美國是怎么欠下那么多錢的？
Why is America in so much debt and what have we done to owe so much? What have we done with China and our own government to owe so much money over the years?
譯文簡介
因為我們用社會保障基金和債務資助了冷戰(zhàn)和石油戰(zhàn)爭（越南、非洲、伊拉克、阿富汗、利比亞、尼加拉瓜，現(xiàn)在還有也門）。幾十年來（黑人預算——奧巴馬總統(tǒng)只是部分結束了這一做法），我們還在國內社會預算中隱藏了中央情報局、國家安全局以及秘密戰(zhàn)爭和武器計劃的費用，并發(fā)行了債務（以這些計劃的名義發(fā)行的債券）以彌補這些欺詐做法。我們欠我們的平民老人這筆錢，現(xiàn)在國家正在采取行動，把老人扔到軍用巴士下面。
正文翻譯
因為我們用社會保障基金和債務資助了冷戰(zhàn)和石油戰(zhàn)爭（越南、非洲、伊拉克、阿富汗、利比亞、尼加拉瓜，現(xiàn)在還有也門）。幾十年來（黑人預算——奧巴馬總統(tǒng)只是部分結束了這一做法），我們還在國內社會預算中隱藏了中央情報局、國家安全局以及秘密戰(zhàn)爭和武器計劃的費用，并發(fā)行了債務（以這些計劃的名義發(fā)行的債券）以彌補這些欺詐做法。我們欠我們的平民老人這筆錢，現(xiàn)在國家正在采取行動，把老人扔到軍用巴士下面。
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://mintwatchbillionaireclub.com 轉載請注明出處
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, B.S. from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Because we subsidized the Cold War and our Oil Wars (Vietnam, Africa, Iraq, Afganistan, Libya, Nicaragua and now Yemen) with our Social Security funds and debt. For decades (The Black Budget — a practice only partly ended by President Obama) we also hid the costs of CIA, NSA and secret wars and weapons programs in our domestic social budget and issued debt (bonds in the name of these programs) to cover the fraud. We owe this money to our civilian elderly and now the country is moving to throw the old under the military bus. Hiding the cause of our social pathology is the hidden agenda behind the Trump Tax Cuts. Hoo-raa For America!
因為我們用社會保障基金和債務資助了冷戰(zhàn)和石油戰(zhàn)爭（越南、非洲、伊拉克、阿富汗、利比亞、尼加拉瓜，現(xiàn)在還有也門）。幾十年來（黑人預算——奧巴馬總統(tǒng)只是部分結束了這一做法），我們還在國內社會預算中隱藏了中央情報局、國家安全局以及秘密戰(zhàn)爭和武器計劃的費用，并發(fā)行了債務（以這些計劃的名義發(fā)行的債券）以彌補這些欺詐做法。我們欠我們的平民老人這筆錢，現(xiàn)在國家正在采取行動，把老人扔到軍用巴士下面。
The Social Security Administration collects payroll taxes and uses the money collected to pay Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance benefits by way of trust funds. When the program runs a surplus, the excess funds increase the value of the Trust Fund.
The Trust Fund is required by law to be invested in non-marketable securities issued and guaranteed by the "full faith and credit" of the federal government. These securities earn a market rate of interest.
Excess funds are used by the government for non-Social Security purposes, creating the obligations to the Social Security Administration and thus program recipients. However, Congress could cut these obligations by altering the law. Trust Fund obligations are considered "intra-governmental" debt, a component of the "public" or "national" debt.
As of June 2015, the intragovernmental debt was $5.1 trillion of the $18.2 trillion national debt. It’s much more now.
以下來自免費的百科全書-維基百科：
社會保障管理局征收工資稅，并通過信托基金將所得款項用于支付老年人、幸存者和殘疾保險福利。當項目出現(xiàn)盈余時，多余的資金會增加信托基金的價值。
法律要求信托基金投資于由聯(lián)邦政府“完全誠信”發(fā)行和擔保的非有價證券，在這些證券賺取市場利率。
政府會將多余的資金用于非社會保障目的，從而產生了對社會保障管理部門以及計劃接收者的義務。然而，國會可以通過修改法律來減少這些義務。信托基金債務被視為“政府內部”債務，是“公共”或“國家”債務的一個組成部分。
截至2015年6月，美國政府的內部債務在18.2萬億美元的美國國債中占5.1萬億美元，現(xiàn)在更多了。
Jack Phillips
, worked at Progressive
Strictly speaking, our government spends more money than it took in through taxes and tariffs. You can review the Federal Budget (just Google) to see where we spend it. Currently we spend a lot on interest in the debt, entitlements, and defense.
The debt is financed through treasury bills (basically bonds) that pay interest determined by auction. These bonds are sold to investors including institutions such as banks and investment funds. Other countries also buy them, including China, as they are seen as a safe place to put their holdings of currency (US dollars). It is not like the US went to China with their hand held out. Anyone can go buy US Treasuries.
嚴格地說，我們的政府花的錢比通過稅收和關稅獲得的錢還要多。你可以查看聯(lián)邦預算（只是谷歌），看看我們把它花在哪里了。目前，我們在債務利息、權益和國防方面花費了大量資金。
債務通過國債（基本上是債券）融資，國債通過拍賣支付利息。這些債券再出售給投資者，包括銀行和投資基金等機構。包括中國在內的其他國家也會購買它們，因為它們被視為存放其持有的貨幣（美元）的安全場所。這不像是美國在伸手找中國借錢，因為任何人都可以購買美國國債。
Les Mikesell
The military and other federal government services are paid from the taxes that are collected. If the cost exceeds the income, credit is used for the deficit in the form of treasury notes that are sold to investors and foreign governments. China is just one of the countries buying the notes. The notes have due dates, but to a certain extent can be paid off by creating/selling new notes. This is the function where we periodically hit the self-imposed limit on debt and Congress has to make a lot of compromises to get the votes to increase it or else shut the government down.
The problem is clearly that the military spends more (>50% of the budget and that probably doesn’t count all the subsequent veteran pensions and health benefits that should be included) than taxpayers are willing to pay. And the people on the receiving side (defense contractors) have enough money and power that no one can stop them. All they have to do is stir up some fear and conflict somewhere in the world and they’ll get all the funding they ask for. It’s hard to quibble over a few dollars when lives are at stake.
軍隊和其他聯(lián)邦政府的服務由征收的稅款支付。如果成本超過收入，信貸將以國債的形式用于赤字，并出售給投資者和外國政府，中國只是購買這些債券的國家之一。國債有到期日，但在一定程度上可以通過創(chuàng)建/出售新的國債來償還。這是我們會定期達到自我施加的債務限制的原因，國會必須做出許多妥協(xié)，以獲得增加債務的投票，否則將政府將關閉。
問題很明顯，軍隊的支出（超過預算的50%，這可能還不包括所有應包括在內的退伍軍人養(yǎng)老金和醫(yī)療福利）超出了納稅人的意愿。而接受方（國防承包商）有足夠的資金和權力，沒有人能阻止他們。他們所要做的就是在世界的某個地方激起一些恐懼和沖突，他們將得到他們所要求的所有資金。人在生命危在旦夕的時候，很難為幾塊錢而斤斤計較。
Robert Free
, lived in China
USA is subsidising the wages of most major companies. In most countries, companies pay for the cost of their staff. Those staff pay tax. In America they pay a wage so low that people can't live on it. So the government pays all kinds of subsidies for health education and food to people that have a job at a companies like McDonald's. In Australia McDonald's staff are paid 3 times what they get in America and it is considered a low pay job.
Then there are the millions of people in jail for being black and subject to the Clinton's 3 strikes law. Instead of having a job, paying tax and smoking a joint occasionally, like so many people do in Colorado and California, they are in jail at enormous expense for the jail and government support of their out of jail family.
ake the social benefits the government pays to employed people. Add the tax they should be getting from those people. Then add the cost of weapons made for the military that the military does not want, and the 3 strikes expenses and you can explain most of the debt.
美國正在補貼大多數(shù)大公司的工資。在大多數(shù)國家，公司會支付員工的費用，然后那些職員會納稅。而在美國，他們支付的工資太低，人們無法靠它生活。因此，政府會向在麥當勞這樣的公司工作的人支付各種各樣的健康教育和食品補貼。在澳大利亞，麥當勞員工的工資是美國員工的3倍（這在美國被認為是一份低薪工作）。
還有數(shù)以百萬計的黑人因觸犯克林頓的“三振出局法”（3 strikes law，意在嚴懲累犯）而入獄。與科羅拉多州和加利福尼亞州的許多人一樣，他們與其去工作、交稅，還不如去坐牢。他們?yōu)榇烁冻隽司薮蟮拇鷥r，以換取監(jiān)獄和政府對他們在監(jiān)獄外的家庭的支持。
以政府支付給就業(yè)者的社會福利為例，加上他們應該從這些人那里得到的稅，然后再加上軍方的武器成本和“三振出局法”的費用，你就可以解釋美國的大部分債務是怎么來的了。
Joseph Wang, Ex-VP Quant - Investment banking - Hong Kong
It's one if the consequences of being a superpower.
After World War II, the United States was in a life and death struggle with the Soviets and the goal of the US was to get countries to join a US led global trading system. This meant opening US markets to foreign trade so that countries would join the capitalist team rather than the com...st one.
In order to do this, the US had to run massive trade deficits. This had the effect of making the US dollar the world currency, and nations had to do something with the money so they bought US Treasuries. It worked well because the US then had the funds to create this huge military which protected the trade system.
這就是成為超級大國的后果之一。
二戰(zhàn)后，美國與蘇聯(lián)展開生死搏斗，美國的目標是讓各國加入美國主導的全球貿易體系，這意味著向外貿開放美國的市場，以便各國加入資本主義隊伍而不是共產主義隊伍。
為了做到這一點，美國不得不背負巨額貿易逆差。這使得美元成為世界貨幣，各國不得不用這些錢做點什么，所以他們購買了美國國債。這一體系運作良好，因為美國當時有資金建立這個保護貿易體系的龐大軍隊。
It's a system that made the United States the most powerful nation in the history of the planet. The problem is that Americans are starting to wonder with the Soviets long gone whether running the world us worth the trouble, and Trump is the first President since Truman that has seriously questioned the system.
One reason the United States is a superpower and Germany and Japan aren't is that the US learned from the British that having other places hold your debt is an essential part of running a global empire.
中國是一個了不起的成功故事。美國把中國從蘇聯(lián)的軌道上拉出來，進入美國主導的貿易和金融體系，所以中國開始像其他國家一樣購買美國國債。
這個體系使美國成了地球歷史上最強大的國家。問題在于，美國人開始懷疑早已不復存在的蘇聯(lián)人是否值得我們?yōu)檫@個世界而煩惱，而特朗普是自杜魯門以來第一位嚴重質疑該制度的總統(tǒng)。
美國是超級大國而德國和日本不是的一個原因是，美國從英國那里了解到，讓其他地方持有你的債務是經營全球帝國的重要組成部分。
Kelsey Mun, native Chinese speaker but also fluent in English
I don’t know. Maybe all that Nuclear weapon developing, building more ships and tanks in the name of national security, sending people to wars will give you a clue? Doesn’t all that cost money. Still, I’m not sure why Americans blame China for what they are doing to their own country.
I guess everything will go alright from now on then. rest asure , folks. Didn’t you guys just voted for someone to Make America Great Again? I’m sure a completely sane person like him would be able to bring down that debts. I heard you guys did a tax cut for big corporation, ditch net neutrality, pull out from Paris agreement. I’m sure that saved you guys some big bucks. Honestly, I believe you guys would be back on track in no times :)
Everyone else in the world is really excited to see the Great Again America.
我不知道。也許所有以國家安全的名義發(fā)展核武器，建造更多船只和坦克，派人參加戰(zhàn)爭會給你一個線索？難道這一切都不花錢嗎？不過，我不知道為什么美國人會因為他們對自己國家的所作所為而責怪中國。
我想從現(xiàn)在起一切都會好起來的。放心，伙計們。你們不是投票支持過一個讓美國再次偉大的人嗎？我敢肯定，像他這樣一個完全理智的人將能夠減少債務。我聽說你們?yōu)榇蠊緶p稅，放棄網絡中立，退出巴黎協(xié)定。我敢肯定，這將為你們節(jié)省了一些大錢。老實說，我相信你們很快就會回到正軌:)
世界上的每個人都非常高興看到美國再次偉大。
Darwin Long, worked at Silicon Alley Insider (2005-2017)
America is in debt because we spend more on our military than the next 20 countries COMBINED. Our insistence on being an oil company with an army masquerading as a nation is what has lead us into ridiculous debt.
When we combine our military madness with the idea that our workers don’t need to make a living from their minimum wage jobs, and that the stupidly wealthy should have more money (see Ronald Reagan and the fallacy of trickledown) we undermine our tax base as well which makes it nearly impossible to repay that debt.
美國負債累累，是因為我們在軍事上的支出比接下來的 20 個國家的總和還多。我們堅持把擁有軍隊的石油公司偽裝成一個國家，這導致我們欠下了荒謬的債務。
當我們將我們的軍事瘋狂與我們的工人不需要靠他們的最低工資工作謀生以及愚蠢的富人應該擁有更多錢的想法結合起來時（參見羅納德·里根和涓滴謬誤），我們也破壞了我們的稅收基礎，這也使得償還這筆債務幾乎是不可能的。
簡而言之，自里根以來提出的所有降低債務的提議實際上都增加了債務——正如實際債務數(shù)字所顯示的那樣。對此我有一個應對之策，但這不包括繼續(xù)加強我們的軍事力量，也不包括讓我們的制造業(yè)通過在海外制造產品來將我們的經濟實力輸送到海外。最后，這還不包括增加那些已經擁有超過他們3輩子所能花費的財富的人的財富。
Karl Miles, former Management Consultant
Simply put, the Congress passes a budget much higher than the previous year, then overspends that higher budget anyway. Both parties realize that the public is not concerned about the debt, so they keep running it up. Unlike you and me, if the government needed to pay its debts, they could simply print a trillion new dollars and hand them over. Presto, no more debt! Of course there are other problems if the government did this, so its only done on a small scale.
The debtsare U.S. Treasuries that are sold to finance new spending. The government then pays interest on those Treasuries, just like any other kind of loan. Those interest payments are a big expense too, further driving the U.S. into debt.
The U.S. owes over 20 trillion in debt now, the last 10 trillion coming during the Obama administration of only 8 years. The biggest foreign holders of debt are China and Japan, which each hold over a trillion dollars.
簡言之，國會通過的預算比前一年高得多，但無論如何都會超支。雙方都意識到公眾并不關心債務，所以他們一直在增加債務。與你我不同的是，如果政府需要償還債務，他們只需印上一萬億美元的新鈔票就可以交出來。別再欠債了！當然，如果政府這么做，還會有其他問題，所以它只是在小范圍內這樣做。
這些債務是美國國債，用于為新的支出融資。然后政府支付這些國債的利息，就像其他貸款一樣。這些利息支付也是一筆巨大的開支，進一步將美國推向債務深淵。
美國現(xiàn)在欠下的債務超過20萬億美元，最后10萬億美元是在奧巴馬執(zhí)政僅8年期間增加的。美國最大的外國債務持有者是中國和日本，它們各自持有超過一萬億美元的債務。
RK Sharma, Interested in God, His creations and His Designs for us.
Good question. Deep thinking on this matter is the need of the hour so that Americans can understand the right action about to be taken by the administration to substantially reduce the trade deficit. Continuing this huge trade deficit of $350 billions per year is going to cause great harm to America. To correct it, even if all have to undergo some hardship then let it be. I have written several answers on this subject. One is quoted below
Part of an answer written on Mon Dec 18th.
———QUOTE——-
—6—He is the first president who is going to tackle huge trade deficit with China. This courage can be shown only by Mr Trump. Others could not have done it. Even now, general people do not understand the great ramification of this huge deficit which equals the combined wealth of all American billionaires every eight years. What is happening is that; we are purchasing certain cheap goods by giving away our dollars which are being used for purchasing our family silver. This is how traders ultimately start owning, initially the assets and later the countries in the sense that influence is exerted to get what is wanted.
好問題。深入思考這個問題是當務之急，這樣美國人才能理解政府將要采取的正確行動，以大幅減少貿易赤字。繼續(xù)保持每年3500億美元的巨額貿易赤字將對美國造成巨大傷害。要糾正它，所有人都必須經歷一些困難。關于這個問題我寫了好幾個答案。引用如下：
-他是第一位準備解決對華巨額貿易逆差的總統(tǒng)，這種勇氣只有特朗普才能表現(xiàn)出來，其他人不可能做到這一點。即使是現(xiàn)在，普通人也不理解這一巨大赤字的巨大后果，這一赤字相當于每八年美國億萬富翁創(chuàng)造的財富總和。正在發(fā)生的事情是：我們通過贈送我們的美元來購買某些廉價商品，這些美元被用來購買我們家的國債。這就是交易者最終開始擁有的方式，最初是資產，后來是國債，然后在這個意義上施加影響以獲得想要的東西。
Don Nichols, former Auto Mechanic (1966-1976)
Our debt is caused by uncontrolled trade and this started right after WW2.We go to War and then help our once enemy rebuild and then we trade with them.Watch what happens with North Korea our future trade partner.We in the USA are not understanding this until we lose our job to cheap imports and then do not care.Am I one of those who knows the future of the USA.Check out where you live and who is the rich and how they got there.I have been watching since the late 50s and listen to my elders.Our WW2 veterans will tell you why we are in debt.
我們的債務是由不受控制的貿易造成的，這是在第二次世界大戰(zhàn)后開始的。我們參加戰(zhàn)爭，然后幫助我們曾經的敵人重建，然后我們與他們進行貿易?？纯次覀兾磥淼馁Q易伙伴朝鮮會發(fā)生什么。我們在美國不理解，直到我們因為廉價進口而失去工作我們也不在乎。我是唯一一個知道美國未來在那里的人嗎？看看你住在哪里，誰是富人，他們是怎么變得富有的。我從50年代末就一直在觀察或聽我的長輩們說這些。我們的二戰(zhàn)老兵會告訴你為什么我們會負債。
George Kleinman, Neuropathologist, Japanophile, Observer
America is in debt because of the tyranny of a dead idea. A number of years ago, author Matt Miller published his book titled The Tyranny of Dead Ideas: Revolutionary Thinking for a New Age of Prosperity, in which he argues that political leaders are convinced - despite obxtive evidence to the contrary - that: 1) taxes always hurt the economy; 2) schools are purely an issue for each respective community; and 3) merit is always rewarded. Nothing could be further from the truth.
由于一個認同死亡思想的暴政，美國負債累累。幾年前，作家馬特·米勒（Matt Miller）出版了他的書《死亡思想的暴政：新繁榮時代的革命思維》，他在書中指出，盡管有與此相反的客觀證據，但政治領導人確信：1）稅收總是會傷害經濟；2） 學校完全是每個社區(qū)的問題；3）付出總會有回報。沒有比這更離譜的了。
里根第一個任期的就職典禮上，國家債務是9980億美元，但當他卸任時，已經膨脹到2.7萬億美元！美國從世界債權人變成了最大的債務人。這是因為他相信里根經濟學（又名“滴流經濟學”，又名“供給經濟學”）。在初選中，他未來的副總統(tǒng)喬治·布什（George HW Bush）正確地將其稱為“巫毒經濟學”（Voodo Economics）。面對迅速增加的赤字，他隨后進行了11次加稅，1982年的《稅收公平和財政責任法案》（TEFRA）就是一個例子，這是美國歷史上最大的一次增稅。不僅如此，在艾倫·格林斯潘的祝福下，里根甚至襲擊了社會保障信托基金，開始對老年人的社會保障福利征稅！然而，盡管如此，在他卸任時，美國國債已經膨脹到2.7萬億美元，已經處于老年癡呆癥的早期階段。
比爾·克林頓（Bill Clinton）自認為是艾森豪威爾（Eisenhower）式的共和黨人，他提高了稅收，平衡了預算，使美國走上了消滅國債的軌道。然后，喬治·布什當選，再次大幅減稅，然后發(fā)動了兩場戰(zhàn)爭——這兩場戰(zhàn)爭都沒有資金支持——他簽署了e號法案處方藥計劃（law e prescxtion drug program）——也沒有資金支持。
對共和黨的經濟理論的受控實驗已經進行過了，在當選堪薩斯州州長時，共和黨人薩姆·布朗貝克（Sam Brownback）雇傭了瘋狂的經濟學家阿瑟·拉弗（Arthur Laffer，他在幾乎所有事情上都錯了）——來幫助重寫堪薩斯州的稅法。結果盈余變成了巨大的赤字，堪薩斯州的信用評級下降了兩次！最終，共和黨控制的州立法機構推翻了布朗貝克的否決權，將稅法恢復到了拉弗之前的樣子。
共和黨人用稅收這個咒語來花民主黨的錢。這筆債務是通過出售國際購買的美國國債來融資的，這也是美國欠中國等其他國家債務的原因。值得注意的是，美國國債曾一度被降級。如果共和黨的稅收騙局全面實施，美國國債有可能再次遭到更嚴重的降級，同時美元的世界儲備貨幣將被取代。
“As mass production has to be accompanied by mass consumption, mass consumption, in turn, implies a distribution of wealth — not of existing wealth, but of wealth as it is currently produced — to provide men with buying power equal to the amount of goods and services offered by the nation’s economic machinery. Instead of achieving that kind of distribution, a giant suction pump had by 1929-30 drawn into a few hands an increasing portion of currently produced wealth. This served them as capital accumulations. But by taking purchasing power out of the hands of mass consumers, the savers denied to themselves the kind of effective demand for their products that would justify a reinvestment of their capital accumulations in new plants. In consequence, as in a poker game where the chips were concentrated in fewer and fewer hands, the other fellows could stay in the game only by borrowing. When their credit ran out, the game stopped.”
到1948年，羅斯福的聯(lián)邦儲備委員會（Federal Reserve）主席承認了基本的經濟真理，他在1951年的《召喚邊疆》（Becking Frontiers）一書中描述了這一真理：
“由于大規(guī)模生產必須伴隨著大規(guī)模消費，因此大規(guī)模消費反過來意味著財富的分配——不是現(xiàn)有財富的分配，而是目前生產的財富的分配——為人們提供與國家經濟機器提供的商品和服務數(shù)量相等的購買力。在分配方面，到1929-1930年，一個巨大的吸力泵將目前生產的財富中越來越多的部分吸引到了少數(shù)人手中，這為他們積累了資本。但由于從大眾消費者手中奪走了購買力，儲戶們拒絕了對他們的產品的有效需求，而這種需求正是再投資的理由結果，就像在一場撲克游戲中，籌碼集中在越來越少的人手中，其他人只能通過借貸才能留在游戲中，當他們的信用耗盡時，游戲就停止了?！?/b>
原創(chuàng)翻譯：龍騰網 http://mintwatchbillionaireclub.com 轉載請注明出處
在凱恩斯（John Maynard Keynes）和馬林納·埃克爾斯（Marriner S.Eccles）之前，1934年
金錢不會“滴下”（譯注：諷刺涓滴效應），也從來都不會。由于未能或不愿承認這一基本事實，共和黨已經創(chuàng)造了美國的第二個鍍金時代，并為大蕭條2.0奠定了基礎。