Another $800 Billion Committed: Crisis Tally Tops $8 Trillion

Yesterday on Bloomberg, I saw a disturbing article that disclosed that the government had already committed $7.76 trillion to fix the credit crisis. This number was staggering to me. I write about this stuff every day and yet even I didn’t realize the tally had gotten that high. The $7.76 trillion number includes the over $300 billion committed to Citigroup, but another $800 billion to free up the credit markets was announced this morning. So far this week—which isn’t even two days old yet—the tally has already surpassed a trillion dollars. This is absolutely insane, and you can bet that there will be more where that came from once the new administration takes over.

I don’t know about you, but these numbers are freaking me out. Sure a lot of these commitments have an investment component, but I don’t believe claims that we will make a bunch of money from these deals. I would consider us lucky if we are able to recover the principal. Things have only gotten worse of late, and we seem prepared to throw as much money at the problem as needed, so what will the final tab be? When will this spending spree stop?

Obama is prepared to open up the taxpayer checkbook when he takes office, recently announcing plans to roll out a new stimulus package estimated to cost $500 billion to $700 billion according to CNN. In addition, his selection for Treasury Secretary, Geithner, has had a huge part in the economic decisions made by Treasury Secretary Paulson, and it seems unlikely that he will stray far from the current path. With these combined factors, we could face countless trillions more before all is said and done. Where is this going to leave our children?

The answer to that question of course is that our children will be unfairly burdened by an absolutely enormous debt. Their financial prospects will be dim as they are forced to deal with higher taxes and other restrictive policies. Personally I find this completely unacceptable, and I hope beyond hope that it doesn’t come to that. I’ve mentioned this before in some of my posts, but to knowingly leave a burden such as this on the future generation is immoral to the fullest extent. We need to pay for our own mistakes, and our own excessive lifestyles. Our children have enough to worry about, and paying for the previous generation’s debt shouldn’t be one of them.