The US Government Will Kindly Accept Any and All Donations

According to TreasuryDirect.gov (link below), a total of $2,840,466.75 was donated to The Bureau of the Public Debt in 2010 to help pay off the nation's large debt load.

According to TreasuryDirect, this is the second highest total on record behind the $3,063,057.05 that was donated in 2009.

The US government makes it very easy to donate through their Pay.gov site - in fact, you can choose to donate using your checking account or credit card, just in case you are feeling extra generous today.

Let's take a look at how much money people have donated to help pay down the US public debt over the past number of years:

2011 (YTD) - $406,606.00
2010 - $2,840,466.75
2009 - $3,063,057.05
2008 - $2,189,358.89
2007 - $2,624,862.42
2006 - $1,646,209.41
2005 - $1,455,541.65
2004 - $664,911.25
2003 - $1,277,423.40
2002 - $744,675.06
2001 - $1,645,082.28
2000 - $1,868,891.93
1999 - $1,457,510.59
1998 - $1,535,541.02
1997 - $955,897.15
1996 - $1,985,175.10

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As mentioned, the US government received over $2.84 million in donations in 2010 that were used to help pay off the debt load of the country.

Let's put that number into perspective.

The United States spent $197 billion on net interest during the 2010 fiscal year. This means that the US spent $539.7 million on net interest each and every day during the fiscal year. This means that the US spent $22.49 million on net interest in each hour of every day during the 2010 fiscal year. This means that the United States spent $374,833 on net interest in each minute of every day during the 2010 fiscal year.

So, that $2.84 million that was donated to help the debt repayment cause during 2010? That money went towards 7 1/2 minutes worth of interest.


Source: TreasuryDirect.gov - Gift Contributions to Reduce Debt Held By The Public

Filed under: General Knowledge