Hey all,
Who knows someone at MSNBC? I desperately want to storm onto the set of "Morning Joe" to let Mika Brzeznski know that "sanity is on sale at Checkstand 4!" (where there's definitely not a line, thanks in part to her morning squawking and squealing about the US national debt).
Every morning I watch slack-jawed as she whips the cast and guests of the show into a whimpering peeing-in-the-corner frenzy! Today she reported that our "infrastructure is collapsing", and that "society is on the brink of collapse"...REALLY?
I suppose scary headlines = higher viewership = more $ for media, and until that dynamic is checked, it'll be more of the same scaremongering. What I'd like to know is: "Who though is going to sue her on behalf of sanity and reason for defamation?".
Is the national debt a concern? Yes, always, especially in weaker economic periods, but there are numerous compelling examples of the economic strength of the United States being (conveniently) overlooked today in favor of more perspiration-worthy headlines:
In order to even begin considering whether we are barreling into economic oblivion, we must put our national debt into perspective, and to do that, we could use the same methods used to understand the relative financial health of any individual, household, or a company for that matter, and when making such a determination step-one is looking at an entity's "assets vs. liabilities".
However, joining Mika's terror stampede requires skipping step-one on a wholesale level. I for one can't remember the last time I heard anyone on the news even attempt to inventory the balance sheet of the US, or the value of the economic assets of "America, Inc.".
Our national debt "looks" high as a number, but contrast with our GDP, it looks, well, fairly normal. However, in contrast with our national assets? Well, frankly, it looks insufficient. Meaning: at the rates the US Treasury could be borrowing right now, IT'S NUTS TO NOT TAKE ON MORE DEBT!
As a percent of GDP, our total national debt (much of which, by the way, is owned by the people of the US) isn't even equal to one years worth of our GDP (which is between 60-95% depending on whether we include intra-government debt)! Historically it's been 120% of GDP before. In fact, at present levels, our debt as a % of GDP ranks us (as a nation) somewhere around 45th worldwide; below that of France, Canada, and many other nations not in the news.
I could go on and on, but I'll quit for now with this final statistic: The present value of America, Inc.'s total economy is estimated to be between $188-$200+ TRILLION.
Now that, that's a big number!
Has anyone heard our debt framed in those terms?
Christian Hunter
Austin, Texas
Total Government Debt as % of GDP Internationally:
Reference: http://rutledgecapital.com/2009/05/24/total-assets-of-the-us-economy-188-trillion-134xgdp/
Who knows someone at MSNBC? I desperately want to storm onto the set of "Morning Joe" to let Mika Brzeznski know that "sanity is on sale at Checkstand 4!" (where there's definitely not a line, thanks in part to her morning squawking and squealing about the US national debt).
Every morning I watch slack-jawed as she whips the cast and guests of the show into a whimpering peeing-in-the-corner frenzy! Today she reported that our "infrastructure is collapsing", and that "society is on the brink of collapse"...REALLY?
I suppose scary headlines = higher viewership = more $ for media, and until that dynamic is checked, it'll be more of the same scaremongering. What I'd like to know is: "Who though is going to sue her on behalf of sanity and reason for defamation?".
Is the national debt a concern? Yes, always, especially in weaker economic periods, but there are numerous compelling examples of the economic strength of the United States being (conveniently) overlooked today in favor of more perspiration-worthy headlines:
In order to even begin considering whether we are barreling into economic oblivion, we must put our national debt into perspective, and to do that, we could use the same methods used to understand the relative financial health of any individual, household, or a company for that matter, and when making such a determination step-one is looking at an entity's "assets vs. liabilities".
However, joining Mika's terror stampede requires skipping step-one on a wholesale level. I for one can't remember the last time I heard anyone on the news even attempt to inventory the balance sheet of the US, or the value of the economic assets of "America, Inc.".
Our national debt "looks" high as a number, but contrast with our GDP, it looks, well, fairly normal. However, in contrast with our national assets? Well, frankly, it looks insufficient. Meaning: at the rates the US Treasury could be borrowing right now, IT'S NUTS TO NOT TAKE ON MORE DEBT!
As a percent of GDP, our total national debt (much of which, by the way, is owned by the people of the US) isn't even equal to one years worth of our GDP (which is between 60-95% depending on whether we include intra-government debt)! Historically it's been 120% of GDP before. In fact, at present levels, our debt as a % of GDP ranks us (as a nation) somewhere around 45th worldwide; below that of France, Canada, and many other nations not in the news.
I could go on and on, but I'll quit for now with this final statistic: The present value of America, Inc.'s total economy is estimated to be between $188-$200+ TRILLION.
Now that, that's a big number!
Has anyone heard our debt framed in those terms?
Christian Hunter
Austin, Texas
Total Government Debt as % of GDP Internationally:
Reference: http://rutledgecapital.com/2009/05/24/total-assets-of-the-us-economy-188-trillion-134xgdp/
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