Good God, FAIL
We do not owe 12 trillion dollars. Government agencies do, and Europe owes those government agencies well over 12 trillion dollars. Everybody has forget about that eh. Other countries have debts as well friend.
We are the richest country on Earth. Thereby we have largest debts as well.
Wait a minute, WTF. We are the richest so we owe the most money? Your completely contradictory position is confusing to say the least. But thats the whole point. We are the richest so why are we buying money from a corporation? Why arent we making our own money for ourselves, to benefit the people and only the people. Thats how we used to do things. It worked just fine.
Im also confused by your "we don't owe 12 trillion, the government does" assertion. The government is supposed to work for you my friend. Thats the way it used to work, and the way it should. Its your 12 trillion.
Heres a break down of US debt:
http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/03/who-does-the-us-owe-money-to/ - this chart is abot a year old, so things are much worse now.
So you'll notice the vast majority is owed to private persons/corporations. AKA the Federal Reserve and more importantly its owners. Japan is broke and trades in US dollars, same with the UK. The government also owes huge money to Social securtiy and millitary retirement, which also means those funds are broke. Sorry GI's, soup lines and homeless shelters for you, but the Rockefellers say thanks.
Dont take my word for it though;
"When the FED holds the Trsy’s the interest paid on those bonds is remitted back to the treasury. This effectively reduces the interest payments on the debt, the larger the percentage of Trsy’s held by the FED the lower the real interest rate on the debt.
The incestuous relationship between the US Treasury and the FED is a mess and fosters corruption. The US bond market is a hold over from the gold standard days when the US dollar was convertible into gold, so when the gov’t needed to spend into deficit it had to borrow, sell US treasury bonds. Since the elimination of convertibility into gold, with the last vestige severed in 1971 by Nixon administration, there is no longer any real need for the US bond market. The gov’t can spend fiat money independent of the bond market and without limitation (other than toothless debt cap limits). The banking cartel that created the FED has lobbied to keep the bond market as a perpetual wealth transfer machine. The banks make money on fees, spreads in the bond market and transfer inflation by spreading the monetary devaluation over time into the bonds.
When the FED buys the bonds, the real interest rate the gov’t pays goes to zero. So why not just eliminate the US bond market and debt based fiat money. Transition to a fiat US Dollar that is spent into existence, eliminate the FED as they would be rendered useless, absorb the economic analysis, statistics, regulation and operations (clearing, etc) of the FED into the US Treasury. Establish fiscal discipline by constraining gov’t spending to a percentage of GDP with deficit limitations. As bonds mature provide US Dollars at redemption and do not issue new Bonds (no rollover of debt).
Out of this incestuous relationship come the secret game (fraud, scam) of the Gov’t trust funds (SS, Gov’t pension, etc) these are larded up with US Trsy’s bonds . Take SS, first the payroll tax takes 12.4% from the worker, with surplus funds held in the SS trust fund “lock box”. Then those “lock box” funds are used to purchase NON-Marketable US Bonds from the US Treasury. The SS money is moved to the US treasury general fund to soften the deficit. When the US treasury pays interest on those bonds in the trust fund, the taxpayer pays that interest since the gov’t is in perpetual deficit spending (second tax for SS). Now for the grand screw job, when the bond matures or if SS needs money for benefit payments where does the US Treasury get the money for redemption, the taxpayer again since the gov’t is in perpetual deficit (third tax for SS).
These mult-trillion dollar ponzi schemes need to end or be massively reformed. It is no wonder why the income and wealth disparity between the top .1% and the 99.9% is at record levels and growing. It is time to take the tools away from the money elite and out of politics (the kleptocracy) or else we will continue to spiral into the black hole of the oligarchy".