US Debt and GDP

The US national debt is $14 trillion. The GDP [gross national product of the US] currently is 4 trillion, 303 billion. What do you think about that? Can we pay it off?

Sheena

 

Ha! :-D

No:-D

The more pressing question IMO is who do we blame to make ourselves feel better?

 

It's not just to make ourselves feel better but to show who, when and how we got into this mess in order to not repeat it.

 

Yes. I'll put it on my plutonium card.:-D

It won't be easy but it can be done.

 

Screw it! :flip

The World Ends in Dec 21 2012 :seeya

 

No way! I have bread crumbs set to expire in 2013

 

I have to post carefully here. Eventually, you run out of other people's money. Then you have to pay. I will leave it at that.

 

Here you go Tim.

 

Classic economic plundering cycles that occurs every 20-25 years. One doesn't have to look very far to find the culprits and causes, but a better question is - do you really want to do anything about it?
Other than that, the best financial advice I can give you is you have money - spend it why you've still got some, as apparently short-sighted as that may appear. Money is just number in an account until you've done something with it.

 

I am in a fortunate position in that i own my home and have enough money to live comfortably.

3 months ago it cost 90 dollars to fill my auto, yesterday it cost 115 dollars.

My neighbors a young couple with a 4 year old and another on the way are having to sell up because they just can not afford the charges any more.

The people who got us into this mess are insulated from it so do not see the real hardship being suffered by the young people.

At some time hard decisions need to be made that address the problem without punishing those who can least afford it.

 

We can pay it off - if the Feds finally, actually, REALLY reduce spending and not just reduce the overspending (they call it "controlling the growth of the budget" . . . I call it "You are still spending !@#$ money we don't have.")

I remember when I learned in school the difference between the debt and the deficit. I was dumfounded there such a thing as the deficit even existed, let alone was talked about like it was a normal way to do business. I can't run my budget that way for long - I mean, I have pretty good credit, but at some point credit runs out and someone comes looking for their money . . . it is no different on the national level. The federal government simply needs to stop spending us into the poorhouse.

Too many two-bit politicians for too long have been passing the problem down the field for some future saps to take care of . . . well, we are out of future now, pal.

It's not doom yet if they can get a handle on it now . . .

 

Here's a link of many counties, their debt % of GDP. Don't know if correct but at least interesting. Compare your debt with other countries, some of them in worse shape.

http://www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/list-of-national-debt-by-country/

 

I see Belgium is at number 11 with 99% and we don't even have a government to do anything about it.

We are now the world record holders, 264 days since the elections and still no government formed.

 

I don't get the chance to go to college or have a good paying job. But I don't see how the usa is going to get back this money that is owed. America is suppose to be the dream. White house with a white fence. But really I see my Grandma was poor, I see my mother is poor, I see me poor atm. Its just going generation to generation. I really don't see why people don't move to other countrys. Yes I love USA but come on so much is hard here. I know we got to pay for services and what not. But they just keep raising things and lower checks. From me in my 20's going to 60's I really doubt there will be a difference with the prices of things(if anything more).

 

For anyone interested in exactly how this happened I recommend the Doco.Very unbiased names all the banks,banker and politicians.Basically a play by play of the decisions leading up to the sub prime crisis,narrated by Matt Damon.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/

There are only two short term solutions to the problem you either keep spending to boost the economy out of recesssion or make major cuts to try and pay back the deficit.

Both the US and the UK have chosen different routes,you the former and use the latter I can honestly say I'm totally unbiased in this case before this all started I had no idea which strategy would would be best but the facts are in,the US's economy is recovering much faster than ours due to the gov spending,many have lost confidence in our currency due to the harsh cuts we're undertaking.

In the long run though its still gamble as to which will work out cheaper.

 

What happens if the US does nothing?
Sheena

 

I don't know. Shouldn't the debt only be 30% of the income (GDP)? Any economists out there?
Sheena

 

Silas,
The gap between rich and poor keeps increasing. I wonder if there will be two Americas, the one with rich business people, doctors, engineering types, computer higher ups, and the one for the rest of us. How will that work; a military controlled by the rich, controlling everyone else?
Sheena

 

Here in the Great South Land our circus of ineptitude - sorry, our government initiated programs to keep the economy rolling. This in spite of the fact that our banks had no serious exposure to the loans disaster in the US (and you can't walk away from a mortgage here the way you can over there).
The company I work for benefited from these programs. As a worker, I should be grateful because the programs kept me in my job.
As a taxpayer, however, I would put every minister in the government in clown suits until the day they die. Maybe even after that.
Billions were wasted. Worse, people died.
This is just one of many similar stories.
As FredG says... other people's money...

 

Thanks for the link.
Don't know how much of it I could stand to watch?

We are being manipulated by people who really behave like serious drug addicts. And I'm
not talking about politicians here. As that documentary states, they are impulsive,
irresponsible and extremely reckless in that they regularly take excessive risk with
little or NO worry of the consequences.

That's how they get their next high.

They take risks just for the rush that it gives them - literally.

 

I found a way they get some money back http://www.wkbw.com/news/video/LICENSE-PLATES-FOR-BIKES-117204918.html Its going to be where we got to pay for license plates on bicycles and then Ill be asked what insurance I want for the bicycle. Then we probably will get to higher taxes for bike lanes drawn and made up on the road ways. I mean I love the stuff that we've got today in the world. But really I think being poor back "in the day" was better then it is today.

 

roflmaoroflmao Got to love some people's idea of how to raise money. You know, a while back, I got a pair of boots made in New York, I was wondering why there were holes for screws in the back, very similar to license plate screw holes... :-D

 

:-D You know I was actually quite astonished when I found out about your jay walking laws,its hard for me to get my head around the fact you can be fined for crossing the street?:confused

 

Jay walking laws? We call that streaking around here! Must be some strange Yankee law. :-D