(double sigh) the graph has a new term for the so-called "national" or "public" debt. Now, it's the _American_ debt. But it is not the "American," or "national," or "public sector" debt at all. Instead it is the _government_ debt. (read the graph.) And to whom? to the public! i.e., largely to America, to the nation. It should be called the "national," "public," or "American" _asset_. If you don't think of it this way, you think of treasury bills, bonds, and notes as burdens. So you should give them to me. I'll take them off your hands.
If we in the US are to worry about debt, we should worry instead about: 1. consumer debt compared to assets -- this is pretty steep nowadays and may cause a fall in consumer spending, causing a recession. 2. corporate debt compared to assets -- this is pretty mild these days (because profitability is up), but has slowed the prosperity phase of the business cycle. A recession would make this problem larger. 3. government debt to rich people -- which means that the government taxes us (or cuts government programs that help the vast majority of people) in order to pay interest to the rich. This makes the distribution of income _even more unequal_. 4. the national debt -- by the government, the private corporations, and individuals -- to those outside the county. This means that the US has to produce more GDP than we can consume at home (or spend on fixed investment) because we have to pay interest and principal to the folks overseas. On 7/8/07, Max B. Sawicky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
(sigh) More Concord Coalition propaganda. There is no reason to compare the present value of projected future outlays to current income, except to frighten the children. At the very least, you would compare it to the PV of income. Then it would be in the single-digits in percentage terms. You realize that the "debt" number reflects projected outlays (and an interest rate) decades in advance (over the infinite horizon in some treatments)?
-----Original Message----- Total National Debt/National Income 1957-2005 http://weblogs.annenberg.edu/digipol/natdebt-vs-natincome.gif Building 'Global Empire' on a tax base of service workers and pizza delivery drivers, and it shows... Source: http://weblogs.annenberg.edu/digipol/2007/05/imperial_overstretch.html
-- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante.
