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Pensioners demonstrate during an anti-austerity rally in Athens on Tuesday. Greece has admitted it still faces a tough job in persuading the European Union and IMF to save it from bankruptcy.
Michael B. Sauter, Charles B. Stockdale, Ashley C. Allen, 24/7 Wall St.
The Greek government on Sunday agreed to drastic austerity measures in the hopes of securing a 130 billion euro bailout from international creditors -- the second in two years. The measures include dramatic cuts in pay, pensions and government services.
The creditors, which include the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank, demanded that by Wednesday Greece show clear evidence of how it will make 325 million euro of the 3.3 billion euro cuts. Greece, which has among the worst debt in the world, faces default as early as March if it does not get the loan.
In addition to Greece, several European Union member countries now face overwhelming government debt. On Monday, Moody’s downgraded six countries, including Italy, Portugal and Spain. Other countries, like Germany and Japan, also have burdensome debts, but unlike Greece or other troubled EU members, their debt problems are not unmanageable. 24/7 Wall St. has identified the countries that have the highest debt-to-GDP ratios.
Many of the countries with the highest debt levels relative to their gross domestic products have been hit hardest by the global recession. Greece, Ireland and Portugal all have unemployment rates above 14 percent. Wealth in these countries is extremely low. In the case of Portugal, GDP per capita in 2010 was just $25,575, lower than every country in the developed world except Slovakia. The combination of extremely high debt, high liabilities and sinking national productivity has resulted in credit downgrades to below investment grade, or junk, bond status. Moody’s rates Ireland “Ba2,” Greece “Ca,” and just downgraded Portugal to “Ba3.”
The increasingly dire situations of several of these nations have forced their governments to enact desperate measures or face financial and economic ruin. Greece is not the only country to recently pass and implement austerity measures. In November 2011, Portugal passed a new austerity budget, which raised taxes on the population and cut the wages of all government employees. In Italy, the retirement age has been raised, and levees on pensioners have gone up as well.
Not all of the countries with extremely high debt relative to their GDPs are doing poorly. Government debt in Germany and Japan is high, but these countries can afford it. Their high debt-to-GDP ratios are balanced by relatively strong economies and wealthy populations. Germany has the highest GDP in Europe and the fourth highest in the world. While Japan’s economy was derailed by the earthquake and resulting nuclear tragedy, it remains the third-largest economy by GDP.
Though countries like Germany, France, UK, the U.S. and Japan continue to have relatively stable economies despite their massive debt, this may not always be the case. Last year, Standard & Poor’s downgraded both France and the U.S. from perfect AAA ratings. Monday, Moody’s gave France and the UK negative outlooks.
24/7 Wall St.: 10 most-educated countries in the world
While many of these economies have started to recover from the recession, they continue to accrue debt. In some cases, even the world’s wealthiest economies have been forced to pass austerity measures of their own. Many U.S. states, for example, have made substantial cuts to government workforces.
24/7 Wall St. ranked developed countries by estimated general government debt as a percentage of nominal GDP for 2011, based on data provided by Moody’s Statistical Handbook for 2011. 24/7 also reviewed nominal GDP, nominal GDP growth, GDP per capita (PPP) and sovereign credit rating from Moody’s. All of the data from the handbook is an estimate for 2011, with the exception of GDP per capita, which is for 2010. Unemployment rates are from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
These are the 10 countries deepest in debt.
1. Japan
- Debt as a percentage of GDP: 233.1 percent
- General government debt: $13.7 trillion
- GDP per capita (PPP): $33,994
- Nominal GDP: $5.88 trillion
- Unemployment rate: 4.6 percent
- Credit rating: Aa3
Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio of 233.1 percent is the highest among the world’s developed nations by a large margin. Despite the country’s massive debt, it has managed to avoid the type of economic distress affecting nations such as Greece and Portugal. This is largely due to Japan’s healthy unemployment rate and population of domestic bondholders, who consistently fund Japanese government borrowing. Japanese vice minister Fumihiko Igarashi said in a speech in November 2011 that “95 percent of Japanese government bonds have been financed domestically so far, with only 5 percent held by foreigners.” Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has proposed the doubling of Japan’s 5 percent national sales tax by 2015 to help bring down the nation’s debt.
24/7 Wall St.: States where companies are hiring
2. Greece
- Debt as a percentage of GDP: 168.2 percent
- General government debt: $489 billion
- GDP per capita (PPP): $28,154
- Nominal GDP: $303 billion
- Unemployment rate: 19.2 percent
- Credit rating: Ca
Greece became the poster child of the European financial crisis in 2009 and 2010. After it was bailed out by the rest of the EU and the IMF, it appeared that matters could not get any worse. Instead, Greece’s economy has continued to unravel, prompting new austerity measures and talks of an even more serious default crisis. In 2010, Greece’s debt as a percent of GDP was 143 percent. Last year, Moody’s estimates Greece’s debt increased to 163 percent of GDP. Greece would need a second bailout worth 130 billion euro -- the equivalent of roughly $172 billion -- in order to prevent the country from defaulting on its debt in March.
3. Italy
- Debt as a percentage of GDP: 120.5 percent
- General government debt: $2.54 trillion
- GDP per capita (PPP): $31,555
- Nominal GDP: $2.2 trillion
- Unemployment rate: 8.9 percent
- Credit rating: A3
Italy’s large public debt is made worse by the country’s poor economic growth. In 2010, GDP grew at a sluggish 1.3 percent. This was preceded by two years of falling GDP. In December 2011, the Italian government passed an austerity package in order to lower borrowing costs. The Financial Times reports according to consumer association Federconsumatori, the government’s nearly $40 billion package of tax increases and spending cuts will cost the average household about $1,500 each year for the next three years. On Monday, Moody’s downgraded Italy’s credit rating to A3, from A2.
24/7 Wall St.: States with the strongest and weakest unions
4. Ireland
- Debt as a percentage of GDP: 108.1 percent
- General government debt: $225 billion
- GDP per capita (PPP): $39,727
- Nominal GDP: $217 billion
- Unemployment rate: 14.5 percent
- Credit rating: Ba1
Ireland was once the healthiest economy in the EU. In the early 2000s, it had the lowest unemployment rate of any developed industrial country. During that time, nominal GDP was growing at an average rate of roughly 10 percent each year. However, when the global economic recession hit, Ireland’s economy began contracting rapidly. In 2006, the Irish government had a budget surplus of 2.9 percent of GDP. In 2010, it accrued a staggering deficit of 32.4 percent of GDP. Since 2001, Ireland’s debt has increased more than 500 percent. Moody’s estimates that the country’s general government debt was $224 billion, well more than its GDP of $216 billion. Moody’s rates Ireland’s sovereign debt at Ba1, or junk status.
5. Portugal
- Debt as a percentage of GDP: 101.6 percent
- General government debt: $257 billion
- GDP per capita (PPP): $25,575
- Nominal GDP: $239 billion
- Unemployment rate: 13.6 percent
- Credit rating: Ba3
Portugal suffered greatly from the global recession -- more than many other countries -- partly because of its low GDP per capita. In 2011, the country received a $104 billion bailout from the EU and the IMF due to its large budget deficit and growing public debt. The Portuguese government now “plans to trim the budget deficit from 9.8 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 to 4.5 percent in 2012 and to the EU ceiling of 3 percent in 2013,” according Business Week. The country’s debt was downgraded to junk status by Moody’s in July 2011 and downgraded again to Ba3 on Monday.
Click here to read the rest of the ten countries that are deepest in debt.
Leave a Comment:
They must mean highest debt to gdp ratio, but overall I believe the US has the greatest total debt of $15.3 trillion. Government debt does not equal total debt in a country of which the US has over $52 trillion. Mysterious why this $52 trillion is never considered an issue, as it is likely it will never be paid off. That $52 trillion is a core reason for our current economic malaise.
The reason the U.S. appears to have the highest total debt is because the whole collective debt of all 50 sovereign States that compose this UNION is being improperly compared to INDIVIDUAL sovereign States, such as Japan -- i.e. the U.S. is a UNION of sovereign States no different than the EU. It is not, itself, a sovereign State.
So, to be accurate, you have to look at the individual debt of EACH MEMBER of this union, separately, not collectively, the same as you would have to look at the debt of each member of the EU. Although not a simple formula, the Federal debt (or, better said, the debt brought onto the individual States, by the Federal government) would have to somehow be correctly distributed amongst all members (because the debt burden is not on the Federal government or the Union as a whole as if it were itself a sovereign State, which it categorically is not, but on the individual members or smaller societies that compose the union), and then each of the several States' individual debts must be added to each member's share of the collective debt of the union. Each member's total individual debt can then be compared against one of their "equals" elsewhere on the globe, such as France, Germany, Japan, etc. In other words, when the Federal government spends money, it is not spending its own money; -- it is spending and squandering money and wealth that belongs to the individual member States and the individuals that compose each of those separate sovereign societies that compose this union.
I consider the US a country like Japan and Germany are countries. The US is more then just a collection of states with a treaty like the EU is. Does the EU have an EU Army? The US has the largest military and the largest debt.
jo-411...: you are partial correct; with the advent of the National Banking act, and the Treasury guaranty of the FDIC, (during the Regan s&L meltdown); we have now a sovereign natl. debt; and yes it is over 50 trillion dollars in present value, ( a amount that can never ever be paid back or balanced), our debt based economic system has lasted almost one hundred years, the longest in history, it is now coming to a end, I have no idea what is going to replace it, however it is going to be a very dangerous period in human history.
The key things to note about any Government debt are:
If you apply these yardsticks, our country is in a better position to return to Clinton era when we started to pay off our debt (Thank you Larry Summers). Countries such as Greece, Italy, etc. are in terrible shape, because they have a population that doesn't move its ass and also the influence of black money on the economy and hence lesser revenue to the government treasury.
this is a liberal site believe nothing you read
Then I guess I shouldn't believe what YOU are saying about this being a liberal site, right? Thanks for the tip.
OK...now we've got that cleared up...IT'S THE TEABAGGERS FAULT!!!! Nonsense, Reid and the dems still control the Senate and there is NOTHING coming out of the Senate that even begins to smack of Clinton-era budget balancing....not even rhetoric. Those are good questions...however, the issue is what the answers will be in 4 or 5 years....if you think we'll still be OK, you're an idiot. If you think another Obama term will reverse what's been going on the past 3+years...you're an idiot. If you think a Repubican administration will solve this problem....no better than a 1 in 3 chance. We always learn the hard way...and the hard way is just up the road a piece.
bingo buddy. As liberals do not live in the real world,politically, socially, or economically, there is absolutely no use in trying to reason with them. At some point a majority of the people will awaken to the fact that liberalism in all of its forms, flys in the face of human nature and thus will not work. As W. Churchill so aptly stated; On e can always trust the Americans to do the right thing...... After they have tried everything else
'liberals do not live in the real world,politically, socially, or economically'
Sir, can you make a point without resorting to broad generalities and right wind-regurgitation? There have been many LIBERALS in this country who have contributed greatly. F.D.R. was a liberal, he pulled us out of the depression and WW2-so I guess he wasn't living in 'reality' though because he disagrees with YOU. The MAJORITY of this nation has already awakened. Thats why Obama got elected the last time (he won a MAJORITY of the votes), and based on the A-typical conservative douc*ebags that he will facing for re-election-I suspect that the MAJORITY will awaken again.
Grandfather-2041741
Wow, so basically anybody who disagrees with YOU is an 'idiot.' Silly name-calling; usually not the hall-mark of a well thought-out INTELLIGENT argument.
Our Debt/GDP ratio is already over 100% and growing rapidly. When the U.S. dollar is replaced by an international currency for commodity trading, such as oil, we will really be in trouble, because no foreign government will want to sell their products in exchange for worthless paper. In the Clinton era, the housing fiasco was created via the CRA and other bills, which permitted unsound mortgage practices and derivatives to grow out of control and unsupervised, which cost inverstors and bankers trillions, and thus transpired TARP for the banks, and the investors took the hit. So, now rather than bankers allowing financially insecure individuals to borrow money, they are permitting government to do it in the same uncontrolled manner via the Fed, and the cancer continues to grow. With revenues decreasing and borrowing increasing, our faith-based economy will one day have a day of reckoning. Just wait until the Affordable Health Care Act is fully implemented in 2014. With another 8-12 million on the government utter, our borrowing may reach new heights. Tax increases will be forthcoming, but unless deep spending cuts follow, there is no economic equation that can come close to solving our economic woes.
Jo-411538 - I thought the Civil War settled this argument...
For 1 clinton never done nothing with the debt. He rode reagan nomics because most plans that are installed in any term are plans that dont take effect until years later.
@"BONES?"
Says the guy who just 3 minutes earlier called the republican Pres candidates douche bags. Do you know what a hypocrite is or were you attempting to confess your own level of intelligence?
Sandno I didn't see Bush do anything to change the houseing program. It wasn't the program that caused the problem it was banks and wall street. I have talked to many loan officers and they all say the same thing. There boards didn't care how out of wack the people applications for loans looked because there mortgage was going to be sold within 30days and they would already have there money. Sub-prime loans investments the same way everyone saw a chance to make more money from the top down and approved it. As far as raising taxes it should have been done long ago. The Bush tax cuts made sure of that. He took money away from the states to so call pay for it, then starts two wars that we had no way of paying for them. Unfortunately there will have to be massive cuts and should be massive tax increases starting with making the Corporations(because they are people too) pay there taxes. However, I don't believe any of the current or proposed Presidential candidates will do what is right for the whole of the UNITED STATES of American.
This really comes down to whether a country is serious about getting out of debt, by cutting spending. You can only raise taxes so much before the public will revolt.
We are not in as bad a shape as some other countries, but we are well on our way. It's the politicians who think they can spend our money better than us. When in reality they done such a terrible job, that if they were a regular employee, they would be fired.
The only real way to fire them is to vote them out, or make sure there is term limits.
Obama has accomplished what few thought possible, he has driven up our national debt so high that our debt to GDP ratio, now over 100%, makes us equivalent to Portugal and Ireland in terms of our long term financial health. Our total debt to GDP ratio is expected to rise to over 105% by the end of this year. That will put us number 4 on the list, just behind Italy and Greece.
Yes, our country was a real 'utopia' three years ago when Bush was the president. ALL of our problems regarding our debt and our nation have happened in the last THREE YEARS alone. Pull your head out of your a** long enough to make a rational point about the argument you are so poorly trying to make, if making a 'pun' (an unfunny pun) is the best 'post' that you can provide, then why bother?
For Anita mandabearhug, What do you mean destroying this once great country? You are destroying this "Christain and democratic" nation with your stupidity, or don't tell me that you already forgot that your retard pervert from Texas was the main culprit for this second great depression? And BTW, did you already forget that we are in this predicament thanks to corrupt government officials, corrupt corporations? Don't tell me you already forgot the foreclosure tsunami that seems as stubborn as tea partiers and doesn't want to go away? Obama, not saint of my devotion, is partially responsible for the mess we find ourselves today, but not by the reason(s) you might want to blame him with, thanks to your racism that won't quit. Let me tell you how stupid your veiled racism makes you look, at least to my inquring eyes. When an arsonist starts a fire, you can't put the blame on the fire department for taking too long to extinguish it. No matter if the fire is worse than those California wild fires, the fire is still the fault of the arsonist and you can't blame the FD until the fire is extinguished. The same applies with Obama. He received, from the retard pervert a second great depression and don't forget, that contrary to my analogy of the arsonist, nobody at the fire department is, was trying to start new fires as to make sure the fire department got its "Waterloo." BTW, had progressives agenda been implemented as they wanted, I'm sure that we would be in much better shape now that we find ourselves in today. Maybe, thanks to your racism, you forgot that it takes two to tango, ergo, and as spineless as Obama is, he can't do it alone, congress like you, should put that racism aside and do what is best for America, for the 99%, but obviously you are too stupid to notice the truth and wants to put blame ahead of reality. To me you sound nothing more and nothing less than a tea partier in steroids, all lies, innuendoes and zero substance. How about blaming the big banks, the insurance companies and the rest of criminals and then maybe you can wait and see who is really to blame.
Peter and Anita - No what is destroying this country are citizens like yourselves who continue to blame the problems on one individual. This ship set sail long before Obama got into office - no I'm not making a defense for our current president either. What I'm saying is the continued mindset of finger pointing and one blame for all is what is killing us. Instead of this continual do nothing blame game why don't we hold all of those a$$ clowns in DC accountable for a change? Both sides are responsible and as far as the average American citizen is concerned those in DC are on an entirely different planet than the rest of us.
Not to disrespect your comments but the sooner we all as American citizens stand together the sooner those in DC will learn its time to straighten up and do their jobs or else. Our problems are many but we can solve them if we finally stand together. But until then, expect nothing different.
It is time
Anita, do you expect anyone to take you seriously when you act like a 5th grader with your silly name-calling? Honestly - grow up. If you want to give up on America just because there's a Democrat in the White House, be our guest. Step aside and shut your yap - those of us who believe in all the promise and greatness of our nation have work to do.
Peter
So your blaming Obama for the total national dept? Do you have short term memory problems? The dept was at 5T when Bush was elected and at 10T when he left office, and his policy's added another 2T before Obama's policy's took effect. Do the math, or due your homework.
Her vote is as good as yours, screw Obammy!
January 8, 2012 Obama: The Affirmative Action President by Matt
Patterson (columnist - Washington Post, New York Post, San Francisco
Examiner)
Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barrack
Obama as an inscrutable and disturbing phenomenon, a baffling breed of
mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle Ages. How,
they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional accomplishment
beguile so many into thinking he could manage the world's largest
economy, direct the world's most powerful military, execute the
world's most consequential job?
Imagine a future historian examining Obama's pre-presidential life:
ushered into and through the Ivy League despite unremarkable grades
and test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a "community
organizer"; a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative
achievement (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, so often did
he vote "present") ; and finally an unaccomplished single term in the
United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his
presidential ambitions. He left no academic legacy in academia,
authored no signature legislation as a legislator.
And then there is the matter of his troubling associations: the
white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as
Obama's "spiritual mentor"; a real-life, actual terrorist who served
as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is easy to imagine a
future historian looking at it all and asking: how on Earth was such a
man elected president?
Not content to wait for history, the incomparable Norman Podhoretz
addressed the question recently in the Wall Street Journal:
To be sure, no white candidate who had close associations with an
outspoken hater of America like Jeremiah Wright and an unrepentant
terrorist like Bill Ayers, would have lasted a single day. But because
Mr. Obama was black, and therefore entitled in the eyes of liberaldom
to have hung out with protesters against various American injustices,
even if they were a bit extreme, he was given a pass.
Let that sink in: Obama was given a pass -- held to a lower standard
-- because of the color of his skin. Podhoretz continues:
And in any case, what did such ancient history matter when he was also
so articulate and elegant and (as he himself had said)
"non-threatening," all of which gave him a fighting chance to become
the first black president and thereby to lay the curse of racism to
rest?
Podhoretz puts his finger, I think, on the animating pulse of the
Obama phenomenon -- affirmative action. Not in the legal sense, of
course. But certainly in the motivating sentiment behind all
affirmative action laws and regulations, which are designed primarily
to make white people, and especially white liberals, feel good about
themselves.
Unfortunately, minorities often suffer so that whites can pat
themselves on the back. Liberals routinely admit minorities to schools
for which they are not qualified, yet take no responsibility for the
inevitable poor performance and high drop-out rates which follow.
Liberals don't care if these minority students fail; liberals aren't
around to witness the emotional devastation and deflated self esteem
resulting from the racist policy that is affirmative action. Yes,
racist.
Holding someone to a separate standard merely because of the color of
his skin -- that's affirmative action in a nutshell, and if that isn't
racism, then nothing is. And that is what America did to Obama.
True, Obama himself was never troubled by his lack of achievements,
but why would he be? As many have noted, Obama was told he was good
enough for Columbia despite undistinguished grades at Occidental; he
was told he was good enough for the US Senate despite a mediocre
record in Illinois; he was told he was good enough to be president
despite no record at all in the Senate. All his life, every step of
the way, Obama was told he was good enough for the next step, in spite
of ample evidence to the contrary. What could this breed if not the
sort of empty narcissism on display every time Obama speaks?
In 2008, many who agreed that he lacked executive qualifications
nonetheless raved about Obama's oratory skills, intellect, and cool
character. Those people -- conservatives included -- ought now to be
deeply embarrassed. The man thinks and speaks in the hoariest of
clichés, and that's when he has his teleprompter in front of him; when
the prompter is absent he can barely think or speak at all. Not one
original idea has ever issued from his mouth -- it's all warmed-over
Marxism of the kind that has failed over and over again for 100 years.
And what about his character? Obama is constantly blaming anything and
everything else for his troubles. Bush did it; it was bad luck; I
inherited this mess. It is embarrassing to see a president so willing
to advertise his own powerlessness, so comfortable with his own
incompetence. But really, what were we to expect? The man has never
been responsible for anything, so how do we expect him to act
responsibly?
In short: our president is a small and small-minded man, with neither
the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job. When you
understand that, and only when you understand that, will the current
erosion of liberty and prosperity make sense. It could not have gone
otherwise with such a man in the Oval Office.
________________________________
Let's get real. Obama was elected by the independents who looked at him as the lesser of the bad chioces. When Palin became the VP nominee Obama fate was sealed.
Now the religious right have taken over the Republican party. So who will the independents vote for Santorum?? No once again it will be Obama. The Republicans don't stand a chance.
In a divided country the elections are determined by the independents and for the most part they are moderate and scared by the right wing.
What is the point of this 'post?' These are not YOUR ideas or YOUR comments, if we want to read what the Washington Post has to say, we can read that information for ourselves on our own time. Selecting ONE article written by some one who doesn't like our president is a little shorts sided, don't you think? How many articles could ANYONE cut and paste that may have a differing opinion as this writer-probably thousands, if not millions. Great 'post' though,it really shows your ability to cut and paste.
the economic tide takes years to show movement. stop blaming the various presidents and look to the people in congress and the senate. Give them your appreciation for what a great job both parties are doing and how the country is prospering under their collective wisdom and leadership.
Exactly! Excellent article and so TRUE!
"In short: our president is a small and small-minded man, with neither
the temperament nor the intellect to handle his job."
I was sure he was talking about GWB.
Dang, that pretty much summed up what I have been itching to say about Obama. I always felt like saying that about him but I not know how to put in words that was epic!
If the Prez is to remain the subject here i might mention as has happened before(perot,spoiler) the Repubs would rather have the house and senate than the presidency. don't worry when they do want it again, the electoral college will be there to assure their victory. but not this trip. (trump,gingrich etc,Who believe that guy ,Sheldon Adelson ,in vegas really wants gingrich to win? dilution is the solution)
@George Brown
It is a comment that applies equally well to George Bush the second and George Bush the third, er... I mean Obama.
The U.S. is pulling itself out. Stop with the doomsday nonsense. Japan has a much higer debt for its population than the U.S. and is doing fine. What the U.S. must do is bring its manufacturing back from China. Cut out the tax give away to U.S. corporations for investing their profits in China. The U.S. depends too much on the WTO to solve its trading problems. Deal with China one on one. If they do not allow U.S. to compete, then put duties on Chinese products. Forget the WTO.
Harry....the first part: good luck, never happen....last part: couldn't agree more.
Totally agree Harry. We abolished slavery in this country over 150 years ago. These corporations have found slavery in other parts of the world and are monopolizing on it. That fact alone should cause us to close the door and demand EQUAL trade. We should not allow our goods to get taxed incoming to China at 50% and us only tax theirs at 10%. Who do you think lets these policies happen, our great politicians bowing to the corporate greed and welfare. I think the teapartier's and the wallstreeter's are all saying the same thing if you clear away the muck, WE WANT OUR GOVERNMENT BACK. If the left and right can agree on one thing this government is suppose to do that is protect us against foriegn entities and nothing has become so foriegn as these multinational corporations and big banks. They are ruining our capitalism and our democracy. I will never be able to understand how the right can vote to continue to subsidize big oil and then claim to be capitalist or for the little guy. How can we let them get away with such hypocracy.
history buff-1062166
So you're saying you wished you paid five times as much for the computer you're using right? 150 bucks for a pair of shoes is ok with you? iPhones so expensive no one could afford them?
Over simplification is usually the work of a simple mind.
I've had a knot in my gut since the summer of 2008. It just keeps getting worse, too.
Well...I have every confidence that we can out-do Japan when it comes to stupid, self-destructive debt behavior. One more Obama term and we'll reach $20 Trillion in debt! We're #1! We're #1!
We are not even the best at debt. I guess we can blame our education system for this also. Come on kids spend, spend and spend more of our borrowed money. Make us proud, make our politicians proud of the example they set for you to follow. Be first again at something.
I'm surprised that the US isn't the first, because of the mass greed and materialism we have. But that is a good thing we don't have it. I just can't see the American public go bezzerk like Greece.
Ah, a feel good story. Other countries with a worse debt situation. Makes me more optimistic about our financial situation knowing others are worse off than us.
u cant just say its Obamas fault. u guys just hate that a black man took office and are looking at it from behind prejudice eyes. i blame the entire government for our state of being. in fact the war monger named bush is the one that started the war in Iraq and his son finished it. they were both wrong. no WMDs were even there. and now were in such a deficit that cant be a quick fix, its Obamas fault. you all are sheep and go along with the governments lies because your too stupid to see for yourself what is happening
Let's cut the prejudice stuff out please. Being a black American has nothing to do with it. My mother is black and my father is white, I'm neither white or Black, but I'm an American. I'm getting really tired of this card being used all the time. Come November I will make my mind up on who I want as my President and it will have nothing to do with color, religion, democrats or republicans. It will be whom I believe will do the job that is required and lie the least.
debt is good for a nation when coupled with the right amount of inflation and interest rate. when debt is paid in the future, the money has less value than the original money borrowed, so debt is a tool to get more for our money.
There is a huge difference from how we run our housholdsa and the dynamic that is required to run nations.
I don't really care who started it, who did it or who is still doing it. There has to come a time when it starts to stop. The real problem is it's much easier to feed the public bull thru the media, keep us arguing and no one has to do anything except lie until we fold.
The only sure way we can get out of debt is to first cut spending because if we raise taxes first congress will just keep spending more. Once guaranteed spending cuts are set in place, then we raise taxes. First by closing loopholes, then by increases in the rates with these additional revenues specified to only be applied to our debt.
Next step is to implement a 25% federal surcharge on U.S. companies income before deductions who do less than 80% of their manufacturing outside the U.S. This would take effect two years after the passage of the law with no time extensions to allow time for U.S. companies to relocate their manufacturing back to the U.S., thus avoiding the surcharge. For those companies that quickly get their manufacturing back to the U.S. there would be no surcharge, for those companies that drag their feet or refuse to comply they will pay, thus making it less profitable to manufacture out of country.
This formula would help in a number of ways. First, spending cuts would prove to the people and the world that we are serious about paying our debt. Second, people would not be nearly as upset paying a temporary increased tax after seeing cuts were made and knowing the extra tax was going only to pay off our debt. Third, the 25% surcharge on over 20% manufacturing overseas would get at least 80% of the manufacturing jobs back in this country thereby creating a larger tax base. The increased manufacturing here would also increase business here in transportation and vendors to the manufacturers, helping to increase the tax base and giving more Americans jobs and money to spend to keep the economy flowing. Fourth, those U.S. companies that chose not to relocate their manufacturing would pay the surcharge and contribute to debt reduction.
This seems like a pretty simple solution. You can manufacture wherever you want, but you get a discount if you do it here at home and it all works to help the American people and the American economy.
the way out of debt is to just print the money as it is needed, if we make our own stuff here , who cares what any other country thinks the value of our money is? of course there needs to be a formula that links the printing to , say the birth rate , which is to represent the increase in demand that comes with growth. then of coarse tax the heck out of any money leaving this nation
Misery loves company, but this need to blame others for the crimes of corrupt politicians, corrupt corporations is not going to cut it. It isn't like this second great depression was invisible, no siree, it was because when you are having too much fun stealing from uncle Sam, nobody likes a party pooper. Tea partiers, republicans should put into those thick, stubborn heads that regulations, the 99% didn't have any thing to do with this second great depression, the blame alone has to be placed on those that the 1% purchased, sealed and delivered, ahem, tea partiers, republicans and obviously some democrats. Medicare, Medicaid, social security are not breaking the bank, it is corrupt corporations, and corrupt politicians that waste tax payers money like it was monopoly money. If to that you add the endemic corruption that plagues all society, anybody with a sane, clear mind can see that continuing on the same path, no regulations, no government oversight, the fox will strike again. It's not the if, but the when that we ignore now, but many experts claim that what Obama and his reforms of Wall Street was more like using a band aid on a heart bypass to stop the bleeding and that is no bull. Better prepare ourselves when a third depression hits, we might not even be able to terrorize the world any longer. We have been at this, the destruction of America, since Ronald Reagan's time and if after all this time hasn't worked, what can possible make anyone believe that more of the same is what we need. This is not only madness as Einstein described it, but asinine and stupid.
well if they didnt have it before they borrowed it whos the dumbass that expects them to really pay it back .. pathetic, of course theyre in debt they didnt have it to begin with .
I wonder how much of that debt Japan has aquired is due to the fact they have become a nation of welfare queens like America?
I wonder if illegal immigrants can sue the Japanese govt. over enforcement of immigration laws?
Welfare Queens? really? move all the manufacturing out of this nation , remove all retirement pensions or benefits from the few jobs that are here , and expect the average person to raise a family in this climate? I am not saying that Americans arent a tad lackadaisical at times, but those masses out there arent getting a fair chance, and it is so rude and unknowlegable to allude to the notion this mess is a choice of the masses here in the US. Also , you might ask what else to expect from the people south of the border after the US government operated "the brassero program" 1955-1972 importing workers by the busload from mexico to work on our farms. no one complained then, and the yanks still don't want to pick cotton , so what is all this immigration nonsense? don't you pay enough for veggies already? want it to go up like our gas?
A lot like a bunch of cancer patients in a critical care unit taking bets on who is going to die first!
Everyone knows they are going to die, but patient A is betting that he can leave his family in more debt than patients B, C, D, and E.
How much population can the planet sustain in and agrarian society?
It will surprise you to find the answer.
Technological progress isn't always progressive!
I think the most amazing thing about this post is its from Wall St, they were bailed out and screwed a lot of people and now they are arrogant enough to say which country is on top and or bottom of their list. They are all full of $%*#.
ok folks
the democrats and the republicans have been speending like mad
so whats the solution:
1. No voluntary war for ten years if they really attack us thats different
2. keep cutting subsudies no oil no farm no whatever subsudies
3. No more bush era tax cuts they go away on there own in a year just wave good bye
4. cut back on welfare un employment ins etc paying folks not to work is real bad idea
Those are all ways to save , but saving is not the correct answer.
those dollars come out of the economy as a whole. how does any of this help? letting our peple die because corporations don't make enough money of our work we have insufficient jobs here.We invented money, why can't we invent an economy that works .
Look OUT China, 40 years ago Japan was going to take over the world economically. Everybody I know was panicking, just as they are doing today with China.
What exactly is the worst thing that can happen if and when a country defaults on its debt?
What's the big deal? Why does anyone care?
I ask these questions in complete sincerity...thanks in advance for helping me and others understand what is at stake in these matters.
the people owed the money dont get it and then cant pay the people they owe. in some cases the numbers are big and workers lose their jobs as the rich go broke. Common people , by the way, employ very few , so it is the"wealthy" that create jobs, and when they don't have enough money, uncreate jobs.
So, whats at stake is many jobs, as workers and demand are linked ,the economy as a whole can suffer.
BUT, we can just print the money,this austerity is to maintain the difference in money levels that keeps the top player on top. 132 million people get 1/2 of all the money earned on this earth every day >
And if you think that US debt is all Obama's fault, just take a quick look at government spending increases and debt increases during the Reagan and Bush years.
The only difference between Republicans and Democrats is this:
Republicans: Borrow and spend
Democrats: Tax and spend
If I have to choose, I'll take the latter. At least then my kids don't end up saddled with interest payments.
Please all you pro Dems or pro Reps, come to grips!!! We are being led to the slaughter by both parties. The only difference between these parties is the spelling. Since we have been under the control of the Fed, which both parties were in office in 1913, it's been all downhill since. 1914 started income taxes and foundations were set up so the truly rich will NEVER pay taxes. Do your own research. Sorry if I hurt anyone's feelings, but the TRUTH hurts. Nobody wants to hear the truth.
a light in a sea of darkness
You mean we are not first. Come on you Demopublicans we can do better than that. Be like Oprah give the poor cars, Chevy Volts. Also invite 5 million more unskilled Mexicans into the county, we will put Greece in our rear view mirror.