I would just like to clarify things up here about this whole national debt thing, because I don't think most people actually understand how it works, or understand that it is not a bad thing. First of all, our "debt" to nations such as china is not like a loan where they can just go "hey give us all the money you owe us". It is, in essence, an investment in our economy and a belief that it will continue to grow. These investments most commonly take the form of treasury bonds. In exchange for their investments in our nation, we pay out a small fraction of it in interest back to the nations who have invested in us, similar to if you were to invest your money in any long term growth accounts. About 60% of that big scary "national debt" is actually owned by the united states itself (that's what happens to all the money that doesn't get paid out in social security because people die). So, to sum up a bit, "national debt" has a really negative connotation, but it doesn't actually mean anything that bad. You should not be looking at our national debt, but instead look at our national debt compared to the growth in our GDP (government debt as a percent of GDP is used by investors to measure a country ability to make future payments on its debt, thus affecting the country borrowing costs and government bond yields). If you look at that, you will find that we, as a nation, are doing just fine. Yes, it is good to not be reliant on other nations' investments to continue economic growth, but it is something that most certainly can be sustained and is not in need of severe change.The clearly partisan agenda being carried out through this thread is heartbreaking.
Hillary defenders: are you truly so geopolitically uneducated that you really believe the lies? Hillary doesn't care about anyone but herself!! Do you really believe the rhetoric of the Democratic Party that much?? Do you really think Hillary gives a damn about equality or helping the poor? Do you know what her cabal has done to Haiti over the past couple decades?
Trump is a dangerous man. He is literally unpredictable, however his business sense does give him a clear advantage here. If anyone can get USA out of debt it would be him. I'm afraid if he acquires the power he is running for then he will do a complete 180 and say screw the people like almost every single politician since JFK. I can't support the man with a vote because he seems like the type of person that would definitely let the power go to their head. This is a lose-lose situation.
I don't have any answer but maybe my observations will help someone see more clearly.
So, the next time you hear a politician say "I'm going to reduce our national debt" just know that it's a lot more complicated than he/she is leading you to believe, and there isn't some big bully in china telling us to fork over some cash or else. Over time we will need to reduce the debt by paying it back in larger portions with either government cut backs or tax increases, but this is not some looming cloud of death as the media portrays it to be.