US Sees More Than 100% Increase In Citizen Donations Towards Reducing National Debt
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Individual Americans have donated nearly $8 million this year – outside of federal taxes – to try and pay off part of the nation’s public debt, said a report by CNN Money on Tuesday, with the sum collected thus far already more than double what was received in 2011.
Individual Americans have donated nearly $8 million this year – outside of federal taxes – to try and pay off part of the nation’s public debt, said a report by CNN Money on Tuesday, with the sum collected thus far already more than double what was received in 2011.
“It’s not like this is a tremendous amount of money. It is a needle in the haystack,” admitted McKayla Braden, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of the Public Debt; “[But] “this is obviously a big jump,” she said.
The figure represents just 0.000007 percent of the approximately $1.1 trillion deficit the U.S. ran in the latest fiscal year. America’s total outstanding debt is also just over $16 trillion, which is dangerously close to the $16.394 trillion debt ceiling.
Related: US Debt To Be Twice The Size Of GDP By 2037
Related: Infographic: America’s Federal Budget & Debt Burden In 2011
[quote]”I think this is a small minority of people signalling to the world that their taxes should be higher,” said Diane Lim Rogers, chief economist at the Concord Coalition, a grassroots organization focused on eliminating federal budget deficits.[/quote]The ongoing national debate about how to get America’s debt under control has also raised public’s awareness, Rogers added.
According to CNN, the first ever public donation to the national debt was in 1961 when an anonymous estate left $20 million to the Bureau of Public Debt. A law had to be passed in order to accept the money; and roughly $85 million has been donated since then.
Braden said that a significant proportion of the donations throughout history often came from estates, when a family member dies and leaves their money to the government. However there has been an increase in ‘living donations’, with even children pitching in to contribute.
[quote]”I once had a classroom send me a small bags of coins,” Braden said, “which we don’t really want. Cash or checks are preferred.”[/quote]Related: Infographic: The US Debt Ceiling Crisis – Local Politics, Global Implications
Related: US National Debt Is A Ticking Time Bomb
In 2008, before the seriousness of the U.S. debt came into public consciousness, donations to the public debt reached $2.2 million. The sum rose to $3.1 million in 2009; and $3.3 million in 2011.
Americans who wish to contribute can do so either online at pay.gov, or send a check directly to the Bureau of Public Debt, or include a separate check with their federal income tax return.
