Posted on 06/30/2008 6:06:46 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
People also don’t look at the asset side of the U.S. ledger. The government (us) own 65% of the land in this country and all the mineral wealth, buildings, etc. on it. What is 800 billion barrels of oil shale worth? Several trillion dollars probably. Coal, brudges, highways, etc.
Obviously the answer is to reform entitlements but blaming politicans is a waste of time. The people in this country don’t want it to happen. It is clear to me the people lead and political leaders follow, or are voted for when they mirror the people’s mood.
In 1976 people were not ready for Reagan, not after just coming out of Vietnam. But they were ready after 4 years of Carter. In the 30s the Brits were not ready for Churchill as he warned them of the Nazi threat. But who did they turn to when war started. And five minutes after Germany surrendered they kicked their greatest leader to the curb because the people wanted to go in another direction.
Our leaders are for the most part a reflection of ourselves. Sad but true.
Bingo.
That's what everyone was crying about back then - the last time America was about to collapse.
I'm in complete agreement.
I don’t get it. If I have nothing in the bank, and buy that Foster’s on my credit card, the argument is that I should’ve bought Budweiser on my credit card instead.
Moreover, think about it intuitively: government borrowing in excess should reduce the value of the dollar, which would theoretically increase the attractiveness of US exports to foreigners and decrease the attractiveness of foreign imports to US consumers.
Reducing leverage by itself should increase a trade imbalance.
Not tooo surprised.
I have to do statistics by the manual.
Thanks.
I think the points are still worth pondering.
LOL
Thx.
Bail us out of what? The Japanese have had large trade surpluses for 20 years now yet their economy has been sucking wind for the past 18 years. How do you explain that away given they have a strong currency?
In 1989 they were eating shaved gold on their sushi and plotting to dominate the world's economy. Today they still can't get their economy going while 40 year old professionals have to live with their parents because they can't afford a home. Is that the kind of economy you think we should emulate?
What a GREAT POST! The above live, an aged and proper way to live in the last century, "below your means", is exactly how my parents raised their four children. Yes, I've spent too much on C.C.'s before, but I've been able to pay them off quickly too, and I am now more fiscally responsible than I have ever been in my life. I don't like the feeling of being in "Debt" to anyboby or any credit card company. My wife and have 2 cards between us and they get paid off at the end of every month now. We've raised a generation of people who must have what they want "Right Now" and it is to the detriment of this country, much less their emotional health. The question is, how are all the people who don't have the extra funds to cover their minimum monthly payments on their C.C.'s, going to LIVE when they can't afford to pay it or the cards off??? That is a cause of great wonderment for me. I know some people who have $10-15K on their cards and they're paying $335-390 Per Card every Month, and I don't know how they do it, it's a real waste of emotions to NOT live within your means, that's what I've found.
I meant “THE ABOVE LINE” (of Course!!!)
I had to post and run this morning; chasing the Almighty Dollar myself, LOL!
I agree with you. Just more gloom and doom. HOWEVER, it drives me absolutely BONKERS to have any personal debt of my own, so I try not to think about how in debt we are as a nation.
Things have to get much worse though, before the rest of the nation even notices. Even with $4/gallon gasoline, and all the whining that entails and the SLIGHT changes people are making in their budgets, nobody’s shoes are pinching enough for them to care, yet.
Not yet. The drain is steady and like the boiling frog. Eventually many may wake up one day to find their options are all closed.
“Eventually many may wake up one day to find their options are all closed.”
And that’s what I work against every single day. You gotta stay informed and try to stay one step ahead of them. :)
These people are phonies. How do they want to fix Medicare (the biggest problem)? Universal Healthcare: “On health care, the foundation sees universal coverage as the right long-term goal, but it plans to set priorities for controlling costs. “The worst thing in the world we can do right now is to try to bring 47 million more people into a system that is badly broken, unaffordable and unsustainable,” (David) Walker said.
http://www.pgpf.org/newsroom/newsclips/freelunchmentality/
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