The Public Debt Clock Is Like a Thermometer

It reappeared in the Dmowski roundabout in Warsaw after having been removed. Where did the idea of such clocks come from?

Wiktor Wojciechowski: The first to come up with such an idea, was a private property developer who worked in New York. His fight to stir a greater interest in debt started with sending Christmas cards to congressmen and senators with a note of the U.S. national debt per capita. In 1989, he went all out and fitted a debt clock that informed New Yorkers about how much they would have to pay the state in future taxes.

Today, a similar clock stands in Times Square, the main square in New York.

Has the American clock worked continuously since 1989?

It was turned off from 2000 to 2002 for a mundane reason: During these years, the U.S. debt declined because the economy was in good shape. In 2008, the clock ran out of space to show a 14th digit on the display. It was designed to display 13 digits; the U.S. debt had reached $10 trillion by then.

This problem, however, was solved by replacing the dollar symbol with the next digit. This has served as a temporary solution until today. Soon, the debt clock will strike $17 trillion.

Are there such clocks in other countries?

There are — in many places, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and France.

In other countries, similar clocks work electronically, on the Internet. This tool aims at increasing public awareness and therefore should be easily available. Once, there was a mobile debt clock in the United Kingdom: A truck with huge displays on both sides drove throughout the country.

How do people react to such clocks?

I have not heard of them receiving such negative reactions as here in the United States, where a government member said the clock should be turned off.

Lastly, such a clock is just like a thermometer: It is worth having on hand to check if the disease is progressing.