I hope whoever the Republican nominee is, sees this stat that was originally published in The Weekly Standard and starts shouting it from the rooftops.
In fact, send an aide to Kinkos and get a really long one that can stick to the side of the campaign bus and then get 3 million business card sized ones and start handing them out to everyone you meet. Start wtih the girl at Kinkos.
Everyone knows that Greece is crumbling under its debt. Well, did you know that our per capita debt is actually worse. One word – unsustainable.
February 23, 2012 at 8:56 pm
Aaaaggghh!!!! That IS scary… what ever happened to 'hope and change'?
I know, silly question.
February 23, 2012 at 9:11 pm
For what it may be worth, Japan is the obvious missing member, and is worse than the U.S. But look here for charts from 2007, 2010, and 2015 projected.
February 23, 2012 at 9:31 pm
This is false and arbitrary. As William mentions above, Japan should be there AS WELL AS Germany. Germany is "hiding" a lot of its per capita debt, which will need to be paid out in the form of pensions in 2015.
February 23, 2012 at 9:32 pm
It's troublesome, sure. But debt per capita is not really a particularly comparable statistic. I believe national debt as a percentage of GDP is a much more standard measure.
February 23, 2012 at 9:47 pm
Chris-2-4, despite your comment, it is indeed a comparable stat. In fact, it has significantly greater import than a simple comparison to GDP, which tends to minimize the severity of the debt.
February 23, 2012 at 10:54 pm
Saul Alinsky trained Obama well.
February 23, 2012 at 11:56 pm
Gulp.
February 24, 2012 at 2:19 am
Oh, c'mon, this indebtitude "scandal" is just cheezwhiz on Ritz. Wait for the armageddon when China, some emirates' coalition, Putin or God forbid unholy alliance with Merkel calls for the replacement of the dollar as the international currency standard.
The "Dark Ages" will look like the Roaring Twenties….
February 24, 2012 at 2:41 am
Now contemplate us all paying interest on a loan that size and we can see how dire the situation is as a whole.
February 24, 2012 at 1:29 pm
Ironically, China continues to support the U.S. dollar, and does so, I believe, because their continuing 10% annual economic growth is dependent on outside markets. And no other market has so much disposable income as the United States. So China is in a position to wipe us out by calling our loans, ut would shoot their toes off in doing so.
February 24, 2012 at 1:43 pm
Bill,
Actually, both you and Chris are only arguing half of the equation.
If nation A has a per capita (pcGDP) of $10, and a per capita debt (pcD) of $50, while nation B has a pcGDP of $1000 and a pcD of $500, then we have a clearer picture. By your measure, nation B is ten times worse off than nation A. By Chris' measure, nation B is 100 times better than nation A. Neither is the case. Nation B is about five times better off than nation A because the GDP to debt ratio of 2:1 is ten times better off.
The US has a pcGDP of $47k and debt that is a little less than that, about 1:1. Greece has a pcGDP of $27k and a ratio of GDP to debt of 2:3.
So, the US is in financially better shape than Greece.
The US GDP is around 47k, Greece is around 25k. Greece has a debt to GDP ratio of
February 24, 2012 at 7:44 pm
Thanks Keith,
That was actually what I was implying, not that the GDP percentage was the only stat to consider. I didn't take enough time to write it all out at the time, but the example I was thinking was this. 2 Men each owe money at the bank. But if Man A owes $100,000 while earning a stable salary of $40,000 and Man B owes $150,000 while earning a stable salary of $150,000, you would not immediate claim that Man B is worse off than Man A. Likely the contrary.
February 25, 2012 at 12:19 am
What's the big deal? Just have the Fed print everyone more money to pay the debts and it's all good. No problemo. Our great grandkids can pay for it. Just ask Ben Bernanke, Obama, Romney, Gingrich and Santorum.
February 25, 2012 at 2:24 am
@too stupid to sign a name 7:19 PM: When have Romney, Gingrich, or Santorum advocated monetizing the debt? I want the precise dates and contexts.
February 25, 2012 at 1:39 pm
What do you think voting to raise the debt ceiling IS? What do you think happens with QE 1,2,etc., etc.?? The Fed is printing money, debasing the currency we are forced to use taxing us just as the old emperors used to clip coins. Can you BE that clueless of Romney, Gingrich, or Santorums voting and spending records?? They are quite easily Googled by anyone who cares to look. You don't want to look, that's your prerogative. The only candidate who even UNDERSTANDS economics and what the Fed is doing is Ron Paul. It would not even be under discussion at all except for Ron Paul. And NONE of the other 3 candidates has any problem with control of our monetary system, our economic system in the hands of a private banking cartel controlled by globalist elites.
February 26, 2012 at 7:40 am
Yeah, noted expert on the global currency market, Ron Paul MD—AKA Mr. "I have no idea why we went off the gold standard, but I'm sure it was bad".
There are downsides to fiat money, but the opposite downsides exist with commodity money. I'm sorry if it offends you to be told that there is no perfect solution to any problem, but it's something all the grownups have been used to for a long time.
Also, "banking cartel controlled by globalist elites"? You really need to fire Reynolds as your haberdasher, son.