« The Death of Horatio Alger, Part II: Education | Main | Anti-Monopoly »
January 13, 2004
Debt: If its good enough for Uncle Sam, its good enough for me.
This article entitled, "I.M.F. Report Says U.S. Deficits Threaten World Economy" in The New York Times talks about a 60 page report released by the International Monetary Fund lambasting America and its incessant need to borrow. It went on to say that the net financial obligations of the United States to the rest of the world could equal 40 percent of its total economy within a few years. "'...an unprecedented level of external debt for a large industrial country' that it said could play havoc with the value of the dollar and international exchange rates".Debt is not uniquely American, but our appetite for it appears to be. In "Thoughts on America..." I mention that most other countries still frown upon needless personal debt for things other than buying a home or starting a business with the reasoning that both have a return on investment. Most people think America doesn't need to borrow, based on how much we seem to lend other countries. What was our administration's response to the report? They are telling us not to worry. Its all under control. They're making a plan right now to eliminate the deficit. I can't imagine there are many people naive enough to trust them.
In traditional corporate top-down fashion, the individuals in this country have taken a cue from the government and increased their own debt accordingly. If its good enough for uncle sam, its good enough for the people.
Posted by wonko at January 13, 2004 05:55 PM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.wayfargone.com/cgi-bin/mt-tb.cgi/203
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)