RE:US national debtYep.....I have been talking about this for a while. Since Trudeau got in to power the Canadian national debt has doubled. Think about that. In a few short short years he has doubled the debt that was accumulated over the past 150 years!! In the US, the debt debt deal that was signed a few months ago has their debt increasing about 50% over the next 10 years. None of this is a good thing. Why? If anything goes wrong, unlike in the past when Governments could do something about it, the same is no longer true. Your point Obscure about future generations is well taken. I liken the situation to the old movie "Pay it forward". Right now it is the opposite - "Pay it backwards" The current generation is living high off the cow at the expense of of future generations. There is no doubt in my mind that their standard of living will be lower than what it is now. From an investment perspective, those of you here that are younger than me, this is something to keep in mind. In my personal case, due to decisions I have made over the years, my grandkids will be just fine due to Trust Funds I have set up. But that is certainly not the case for most people and especially in the US where over half the people are living pay check to pay check and have no retirement savings let alone money to help their descedents.