| Author | Message | ||
     Old_man |
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ | ||
| Ctyxrnr |
WOW!!!! that is insane. | ||
| Old_man |
Insane-yes And not only you but your wife and every one of your children owe over $28,000. We will end up having to pay it one way or another. | ||
| Rocketman |
The estimated population of the United States is 299,350,997 Jeez, you'd think they'd have just rounded up the figure to 300.000.000 which means you each owe $28.358.88 a saving of $61.52 You need to call your congressman. Rocket | ||
| Trojan |
Now that is some Gold Card  | ||
| Swampy |
To whom do we write the check to? And who authorized me to assume this debt? | ||
| Brucelee |
I don't owe a dime. I never made those commitments and will die long before anyone figures out how to worm out of them. Get elected, steal money, retire on government pension. Anyone want to be a Senator? | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
ALL ABOARD, Gravy Train leaving from platform one, calling at; greed, avarice, theft, & deception. Passengers travelling to Impeachment please change at the White House. | ||
| Old_man |
If it isn't paid at some point it automatically gets deducted from the value of the money you do have, whether you approve the reduction or not. | ||
| Pwnzor |
Propaganda, like The Force, works particularly well on the weak-minded. | ||
| Skyguy |
Grumpy, LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pwnzor, "Open your mind Luke".. HAHA | ||
| Blake |
"We will end up having to pay it one way or another." That is probably the biggest myth in politics today. The United States of America's economic situation is quite a bit different from that of a typical household or business. There are a couple two or three major reason why. Can you identify them? Fun stuff.  | ||
| Swampy |
Again, Who do we owe the debt to? All the US government would have to do is find the most valueless material in existance, make a coin for what ever the debt was, and pay it to who ever this debt is owed to. You cannot pay a debt with a debt.... Look on the paper money in your pocket This note is legal tender for all debts public and private ...the money in your pocket is given to the US treasury from____(fill in the blank) as the US governments promise to pay. In other words, the government owes someone. That someone has their name at the top of the money that you have in your pocket. *Federal Reserve* It's their "Note" The Federal Reserve is as federal as Federal Express. The US Government is the only body that can coin money, in DOLLARS, dollars are a unit of measurement, dollars of gold, and dollars of silver, the paper money is nothing more than military script. It represents debt, not wealth... Problem solved!.....maybe.... Are we having fun yet? This is still the Badweb, isn't it? | ||
| Davegess |
Money, quite simply, is worth what people think it is worth just like a stock. It is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the issuing body, in this case the good ole USA. People around the world currently think (and they have held this thought for a very long time, in good times and bad) that money issued by the USA is not only worth what it says now but it will be worth something similar next year. Unlike say a ruble or what ever they use in Sri Lanka. As long as people believe this our money is good. When they stop believing this it will be bad. What it comes right down to is that our money is backed by our economy and as long as we remain the most vibrant economy on earth our money will be king. Look at the British pound, when they ruled the world it was worth over 5 dollars per pound and was used the world over as currency. Now is worth about a buck and a half and a USA bill will buy you goods in many places on earth but a British pound will get you a funny look. As far as our "debt" is concerned a large amount of it is owed to us. I have heard, and this could certainly be incorrect, that the largest holder of US government bonds is Social Security. SS cashes these in as they need to pay money out to US citizens. Another large chunk of it is owned by US citizens who also cash them in as they need money. If the US government had no "debt" and was not allowed to have "debt" we would be one of the poorest countries on earth. Much of this "debt" is an investment in the future in one way or another. I use the quotes because this borrowing is not in any way like the money I owe on my credit cards. | ||
| Court |
>>>>The United States of America's economic situation is quite a bit different from that of a typical household or business. It's not "quite a bit" different, it's ENTIRELY different. I'm betting it'd be impossible to conduct this discussion on a motorcycle forum and I'm 30+ years removed from my accounting degree, but I recall quite clearly my wonderment when we moved into the advanced portions of governmental (generally entities that can tax) accounting. Gold is a store of value, money is tender. | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
If you look on any English note, it says "BANK OF ENGLAND I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of ..... pounds" paper money is just a sort of i o u that you can trade. | ||
| Macbuell |
Money is a promissory note backed by the government. That's all it is. Those $ bills we all obsess over are just pieces of paper backed by the US government. So, as long as we all agree that the US government isn't going to file for bankruptcy, there isn't a lot to worry about. That being said, hi debt can have an affect on people's (or markets) opinions on the value of the dollar. These opinions can cause the value of the dollar to erode as compared to other currencies, etc. In other words, increasing debt can cause inflation, or the eroding value of the dollar, or the concept that a dollar today can buy more than a dollar tomorrow. To much inflation is never a good thing. Just as Jimmy Carter. There has been a lot of concern from the Fed and economists regarding inflation recently. All I can tell you is this, my expenses have grown faster than my income the past few years and that isn't because I am buying more goods and services. From everything I have read, I can tell you that I am not the only one to experience this. | ||
| Swampy |
Davegess said: "Money, quite simply, is worth what people think it is worth just like a stock. It is backed by the "full faith and credit" of the issuing body, in this case the good ole USA. " The "Money" we use is not issued by the Good Ole USA | ||
| Davegess |
<so,> Exactly. Some small amount if inflation is preferable to any amount of deflation (prices falling) which is why the Fed is always trying to keep the economy growing at a steady rate with the rate of inflation just a touch above it. If inflation runs a lot ahead of the growth in the economy it is very painful, ask Jimmy Carter as someone said. We have had a very long period with a growing economy and low inflation. hopefully the current oil inflation will not cause too much long term pain. Inflation and growth are good for debtors an d people with real property (most Americans seem to meet one or both of those), deflation is good for people with lots of cash. Unfortunatly sustained defaltion tends to destroy the economy to the point were the cash does you little good. See the Great Depression. | ||
| Smoky |
If you are obliged for a share of the debt, are you entitled to your share of the assets? What's the net worth of the countries public assets, divided by the population?? I'll bet the assets are worth more than the debts. | ||
| Davegess |
-I'll bet the assets are worth more than the debts. I would have to think so. You do get a portion now, National Parks are free to visit, can you imagine what a visit to Yellowstone would cost if Disney owned the place? -The "Money" we use is not issued by the Good Ole USA Who issues your money | ||
| Macbuell |
Dave, I imagine he is referring to Credit Cards and that type of debt that people use to spend, in many cases, more than they earn. | ||
| Davegess |
That money would be issued by the USA also. It is part of what is refered to as the Money Supply. | ||
| Old_man |
If it not important that the government has a balanced budget then why are we taxed? The government can just print all the money it wants to spend. | ||
| Beachbuell |
Bill me for it........ Checks in the mail | ||
| Vaneo1 |
another reason to make illegals leave or just make them citizens. | ||
| Pwnzor |
They have pills now that make the phone calls go away. | ||
| Old_man |
I realize that if the government just printed the money it spent, it would be a tax and it would tax the millionaire and the pauper at the same rate. Should make the millionaires happy. | ||
| Blake |
Who said it wasn't important to maintain a budget? See what Dave said about the perceived worth of the dollar. Bottom line is that as long as our economy continues to grow and thrive and we keep our debt service expense to a workable level, there is no problem. I know folks who have a debt that is triple their annual gross income. They can not only bear that debt, but they can increase their debt load significantly with no ill effect. How? They find ways to earn more income. It's all about cash flow. If they could then also print their own money and also sell more debt to pay off old debt, they might be akin to the Federal Government. Court knows way more. Fun stuff. BadWeBrs debunking one of the biggest myths in modern politics. Maybe there is hope for the internet after all. Some interesting commentaries on the issue... http://www.oswego.edu/~edunne/debtmyths.html http://www.optimist123.com/optimist/2005/10/why_debt_doomsd.html Check out the chart in the optimist123.com commentary; it is key to understanding how debt can increase continuously with no ill effect. | ||
| Blake |
Dave, There is only one national park in America that is free to visit, Great Smokey Mountains National Park; two if you count the Blue Ridge Parkway. All the rest charge entrance fees. |
