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Originally Posted by pan6467
the thing is.... the goovernment's debt far far exceeds what the bring in.
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True the US government is spending more than it collects. Howver, the government can take everything we own or dramatically raise taxes anytime it wants. The government can also print as much money it wants. Deficit government spending is meaningful in regards to the impact it has, not on its existence.
Most economist look at GDP as a measure of national income, which assumes it is the same as the income the government could use if needed.
Also true is the fact the the government is in debt. However, the government owns assets; national parks, oil, roads, military equipment, buildings, etc. The government could sell these assets to pay on the debt. The government also has access to our collective wealth. The government could take our property if it wants, or perhaps sell the state of Ohio to Canada. Ok I know I am getting a bit sarcastic, but or national wealth far exceed our national debt. I don't remember the number but lets assume the natioanal debt is $4,000/person, that seems prety bad, but if our national wealth is $20,000/person it isn't so bad. To put the debt in perspective we have to look at the asset/debt ratio. If it is less than 1.0, we are in bad shape and could be on the verge of bankruptcy because our debts are greater than assets. If the ratio is 2/3/4/5/6/7/etc. That means for every $1 of debt we have $2/3/4/5/6/7 in assets, the higher the number the smaller the risk. So when you only talk about the debt, you can make it seem like the sky is falling. But when I look at the debt ratio, I can have high confidence. One the glass half empty the other the glass is half full. Debt can be bad, but it can also be good, if managed properly.
So, the question is - Do you and the media purposefully attempt to miss lead people? Or, do you simply not understand?
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Yopu're example is nowhere near what the truth facing the government is and you know it.
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You got me on that. I just made those numbers up about the household above and the arbitrary debt ceiling. But the actual numbers where not important to the point. I think you knew that, riight? So we can get lost in debating trivial matters, or we can debate real issues. Your choice. I will do this because it helps me articulate arguments, if I ever write a book, I will give you and others credit. Doing this is helpful even when we seem to avoid the real issues being discussed and focus on trivial issues.
P.S. If I do write a book and use that household example I promise to do research so the ratios are in proportion to our national financial picture. Thanks for pointing that out.