America is in debt. Big time. And it is not going to get better anytime.

As a country and as individuals, we have become addicted to debt. If a little bit is good, more is better. There are different explanation for why America is in debt at each of the levels.

Individual

At the individual level, Americans are in debt by more than $2.4 TRILLION according to the Federal Reserve Board. That is more than $8000 for every man, woman and child in the country, and this figure is growing by billions of dollars a month.

We are in debt by this much because society encourages us to satisfy our every want immediately. From instant coffee to radio sound bites, cell phones to personal shoppers the emphasis is on fast and convenient. Spending more money than you make is not a problem - payday loans and title loans will tide you over.

Why? It is because of the ubiquity of advertising in our lives and its ability to drown out those quiet voices that encourage thrift, savings and delayed gratification.

Country

As a country, we are also swimming in debt. From the beginning, we have used debt financing of various types and amounts to do the business of the government. What has happened in the past century has been a huge rise in entitlement programs.

As any good politician knows, the best way to get votes is to give something to the voter. As any mediocre businessman knows, it is easier to spend somebody else's money than your own. Our politicians are adept at promising us our own money in the form of various large government programs.

The Federal government has taken over more and more responsibilities that used to be reserved for states, individuals and businesses. As it has done so, the government has grown immense in size and cost. Each year, in response to various tragedies and events there is a call for more and more spending in many different areas.

The result is a government that continues to grow in size, and which perpetually operates at a deficit. Individuals and other countries do not mind, because they know that they will get their money back - the Federal government can print money after all. If they have to resort to doing that, the people who will be hurt worst will be us, the taxpayers and citizens of this great country.

Conclusion

As a society, we are addicted to debt due to the 'I want it NOW' mentality to life, and our government continues to keep us happy by spending money it does not have yet. As long as these conditions remain, we will remain a debtor country.

Is this what we truly want?

Learn more about this author, Jack Thornton.
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