Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
As someone who doesn’t watch the news or care for politics, it’s been amazing to be more tuned in this past year with covid and to see the way the two sides report the news. I would flip back and forth and it’s actually incredible to see the spin in real time before your eyes. You can see why people “hate” each other so much and argue.
They’re literally watching a propaganda machine as bad as ones we’ve seen in history.
It’s actually sad people think it’s real. I don’t even believe the people talking are dumb enough to think what they’re saying is true. It has to be acting.
I was expecting Howard Beal to come out and tell me to turn my television off.
We're deliberately being divided against each other. Yet few people seem to realize it.
Those countries are also subsidized by the American security umbrella. We can run up debts the way we do because of arrangements exactly like this. “The sorrows of empire” if you will. Their standard of life would take a spike down if America were to ever be forced to step back and if their security wasn’t subsidized post ww2.
Several of those countries have their own currency, but ones like Germany benefit being part of the Euro because the weaker countries in the zone, drag down the value of the euro and it makes Germany an exporting powerhouse. Their monetary power is enhanced by being the strong country in a block of countries that shouldn’t even be grouped together as a monetary Union.
You can see how it fails countries when Italy or Greece come into problems and can’t devalue enough to boost their exports and fix their local economy or wash away debts with inflation.
All of what you say is true, yet America has had its own share of advantages that it has squandered in recent decades. Some countries live within their means and others don't. America isn't one of them. It's not going to take us to a good place.
IMO, this is out of control and a serious concern of mine heading forward. Do we really think we can spend our way to prosperity and not have to deal with the looming debt crisis? Currently approaching $30 trillion, with SS/Medicare to explode by the end of the decade. How is this sustainable? Is anyone else not concerned?
In 2030, the interest on the debt alone will be $700 billion (currently close to $400 bil) and exploding after that if you don't think that it is an alarming number.
Last week, Financial Times posted article called The Great Reset.
In it, it is said that as part of the rest, alll government central banks debts will be discarded. 29 trillion dollar’s worldwide.
You can look up article. iPad gives me hard time to copy paste.
It’s called Time for the great reset of the financial system. Comes up on google right away.
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans give a rip about either deficits or the debt. If you think either party cares, then you are seriously deluded.
In 2030, the interest on the debt alone will be $700 billion (currently close to $400 bil) and exploding after that if you don't think that it is an alarming number.
Explain this to me.
U.s gdp is 21 trillion. 400 billion in interest is less than 2.5% of the budget. Even if GDP remained entirely static until 2030, 700 billion still isn’t even 5%.
People and corporations pay debt at these percentages every day and it never poses any problem. Pretty much anyone with a mortgage or other loans could easily be paying 5 or 10% or more.
Why do you think 700 billion of debt service is not able to be met?
Define explode. Is it going to double to 1.4 trillion? Can 1.4 be supported on 21 trillion of gdp? How about 25? Or 30 trillion gdp?
The primary issue is that for the first time in our history our liabilities are of greater than are value of all assets on a total and per citizen ratio. Even worse is that the value of the assets are supported but access to copious amounts of cheap debt/credit. Once this implodes the value of the assets will tank while the liabilities remain fixed so the ration will get much worse.
Take a look at the 2000 -> Current relationships between Median wage and Median New Home price. If that doesn't knock your socks off and worry you then I don't know what else to tell you.
Anyways, as I said before the premise that the u.s is insolvent (liabilities exceeding assets) is false. I don’t see any rational way someone could come to that conclusion. And on top of it, us debts are not secured with hard collateral. Creditors are only entitled to more dollars, which we control.
However, what I don’t understand about the people who focus on debt numbers is why they don’t focus on the income side. Is it intentional? Or do they just not understand finance?
People will point and say oh we owe 60 trillion by 2050. Or oh it’s 120 trillion by x date.
However, we earn a yearly gdp. In the simplest of ways of thinking about it, let’s say we stay at 20 gdp and never increase from 2020 to 2050. That’s 30 years of 20 trillion. Or 600 trillion. Can we pay 20 trillion debt? Or 50 trillion?
Yes. And in reality, we don’t need to and won’t pay it off. Well make the interest payments, which is far less than that full amount.
And that’s setting aside the fact that monetary sovereigns aren’t even like you and I.
Never forget that u.s debt is in usd...the higher the debt grows...the more demand there is for dollars. The more demand...the more that can be supplied...and whose willing to supply it? Uncle Sam with consumption.
The century of world wars established certain countries with near unlimited power over money. The rich countries are in debt for a reason.
Last edited by Thatsright19; 03-22-2021 at 05:22 PM..
IMO, this is out of control and a serious concern of mine heading forward. Do we really think we can spend our way to prosperity and not have to deal with the looming debt crisis? Currently approaching $30 trillion, with SS/Medicare to explode by the end of the decade. How is this sustainable? Is anyone else not concerned?
The problem is that approximately 1/2 the country only cares at any particular time about this issue. For instance, conservatives cared when Obama was POTUS and completely refused to even discuss the matter from 2017 until now. And vice-versa.
We only seem to care about fiscal irresponsibility when the other guy is in charge. Stimulus and tax cuts should only be employed IMO when we are in an economic crisis, not to juice the economy to generate votes in otherwise good economic times.
Right now we are rather screwed, as we were in 2008. Failure to act can have a domino or snowball effect. Loss of jobs and income results in more layoffs, which can lead to restrained spending, missed payments, foreclosures and bankruptcies. In the end, even those who are still employed can be subject to very undesirable outcomes indeed, including market corrections and property devaluation and eventual job losses.
It took decades for many area's home values to return to pre-recession levels after the housing crisis. And a long time for investments to come back. Assuming you didn't freak out and exit the stock market entirely.
All of what you say is true, yet America has had its own share of advantages that it has squandered in recent decades. Some countries live within their means and others don't. America isn't one of them. It's not going to take us to a good place.
I think it’s difficult to say how it ends, because what we’re seeing has never been done before. Countries peg and move their fx in relation to the dollar as though the dollar itself is gold. And the usd, has its relationship to opec oil since 1971 as well. The u.s empire is even stronger than any other because we exert our influence further by creating debt. The more usd debt held abroad, the more demand for usd there is. It also helps that it piggy backed off a peaceful transition of power from another one of the strongest empires in history who happened to use the same language.
And central banks are simply the serpent eating its own tail. When debt is issued from nothing, the interest literally doesn’t exist to pay back the principle plus the interest. Debt will always be expanding. By design. If deflation rears its head with debt extinguishment, they will do anything to stop it and start expansion of debt. Also known as the money supply.
Money IS debt. And debt is money. If all debt was attempted to be paid, there would be no money left...and the debt cannot mathematically be eliminated because of interest.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
