Our country’s national debt is about $21 trillion; the total amount of money in the United States today is about $1.7 trillion. In the broadest sense of the word “money,” there is about $90 trillion all together in the world. Horrifyingly, we (US citizens) owe more than 20% of all the money in the world and only have .5% of that amount in the country to pay our debts.
A couple of years ago, The Panama Papers rocked the financial world of ultra wealthy oligarchs by exposing hidden money that belongs to coffers in their home countries. The ensuing transparency found that U.S. corporations are hiding 55% of their wealth offshore costing us nationally $130 billion in tax revenue each year.
In the Tax Justice Network study, researchers found that worldwide, there is $21 trillion stashed in secret bank accounts and that 92,000 people (a thousandth of one percent of the world’s population,) control $9.8 trillion of the world’s wealth. This fabulous wealth comes by “leaking” or skimming money, for example: $700 billion from Russia since 1990; $305 billion from Saudi Arabia since the 1970s disappeared during sales of state resources.
The same study noted that if this secret money were recognized, with 3% interest paid annually and that accrued interest was taxed at 30%, it would generate $188 billion in tax revenues for countries around the world, each year, which would eliminate the need for world aid.
Last year, Republicans gave the ultra rich of our country $1.5 billion in tax cuts, which helped push our national debt to $21 trillion. Republicans wanted to use this as an excuse to steal the money we have saved in our Social Security/Medicare Trust Fund, along with federal and teacher pensions, to fill this egregious hole in our budget. 2018 elections saved our country from that final blow to our economy. But each of us ordinary citizen, man, woman and child, now owes more than $72,000 to pay for our country’s current debt.
Tax time is here and you can see where some of your money was “leaked” out of the system. You pay thousands; they get millions. When was that ever considered democratic? Never.