Hello to all my readers, I want to thank you for coming back to my blog and for appreciating my thoughts. I have noticed that not many of you have really commented on any of my posts. This saddens me because I would really love feedback. Remember that this country was built on discussion and debate and while there are many people we can look to for an intricate analysis, it can always get better through fervent questioning. So, with that being said let us delve deep into today's discussion, shall we?
DEBT! It is a big deal and I have yet to meet someone who enjoys debt, but here in the United States we are just drowning in debt. In fact, most of us probably think of debt as our outstanding credit card balances, loans, etc. and that would be a good indication of personal debt. However, the nation is in debt in excess of $14 trillion dollars establishing that each United States citizen holds an additional $50,000 dollars or so in "public" debt, but that is not taking into consideration tax brackets. The most interesting thing about this figure is that if tax brackets are incorporated, the elite actually hold less of this debt than the middle and lower classes.
Anyway, there has been a lot of discussion circulating with regards to raising the debt ceiling and the catastrophic events that would ensue if Congress were to fail to approve such an increase. Just imagine if they did not raise the debt limit, and we were unable to service our foreign debt. It would put the United States in a similar situation as Portugal and Greece including but not limited to a downward spiraling economy, massive currency inflation, and dramatic increases in unemployment. Thankfully, our trustworthy Secretary of Treasury, Timothy Geithner, has assured the media that the Congress is ready and willing to raise the debt ceiling without issue. The only problem with this is that he actually has no method of guaranteeing that the Congress actually will increase the debt ceiling, after all the government just recently came frighteningly close to shutting down. So, what we can all do is HOPE and PRAY(to whichever god of your choosing, or not) that Congress and Senate can get it's act together to pass a CLEAN bill for the increase in time, which is mid-May.
Moving right along, CREDIT is really all that the United States has left to go on given our massive debt, growing trade deficit, deteriorating education system, etc. Unfortunately, at the start of this week, the United States Government's credit rating was given a negative outlook by the Standard & Poor rating firm. Intuitively, you would probably think that this isn't that much of a huge event since they didn't actually lower the rating, but it did cause stocks to tumble dramatically. In example, the Dow Jones Industrial average lost a hefty 200 points during the trading day. In summation, this indicates that investors, foreign and domestic, should be cautious when investing into the United States due to possible instability and "long term fiscal pressure".
And lastly, I really feel compelled to touch on the GRAND OLD PARTY, the Republicans. It amazes me that they were voted back into office after eight years of destructive decisions. I agree that the Democrats were not doing great, but I felt a lot safer. The GOP is incredible because they are so united in their hatred of Barack Obama. Then coupled with the Tea Party, it's a detrimental force in United States politics! I could probably write a dissertation on the corruption and dishonesty within the Republican Party, but I will save it for another day. All I think is necessary to say is if you are looking for someone to blame, it's the GOP!
Thank You for reading once again! Comments are encouraged and appreciated!
Debt is great... its how i fund for things I otherwise wouldn't be able to actually afford. I see the similarities between the Greek economy and what's happening in the US, however I think that there is a difference in the fact that the US dollar is still trusted..generally the dollar just has stronger fundamentals and its relied upon. That's not to say that we dont have to fix the slippery slope we're in, and that we're not facing severe problems that have to be tackled by BOTH parties...
ReplyDeleteAt the current time I agree that there isn't a strong parallel between the Greek Economy and the American Economy, but if Congress allowed the US to default on its obligations, then the parallel would become much more apparent. Also, I agree that both parties need to come together to solve the problems, but I still credit the GOP with the spiraling debt problems then coupled with their failure to omit moral "riders" to every bill clearly just creates more gridlock.
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