Forum Post: Subject: Simple Math
Posted 12 years ago on Dec. 7, 2011, 8:17 p.m. EST by JoeTheFarmer
(2654)
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Federal budget and cuts made
- United States Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
- Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
- New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
- National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
- Recent budget cut: $ 38,500,000,000
Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a household budget.
- Annual family income: $21,700
- Money the family spent: $38,200
- New debt on the credit card: $16,500
- Outstanding balance on credit card: $142,710
- Total budget cuts: $385
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/aug/24/opinion/la-oe-craighead-spending-20110824
very nice - on the money so to speak - people are very confused by the whole debt thing - if i had a legit printing press in my basement i would worry too much. also depends on what you do with the debt - go to vegas and gamble it away or create renewable energy that will last for 100 years - you did good!
Why is it "Outstanding balance on credit card" and not a mortgage or long-term asset??
That's fine call it a mortgage but that is more like a HELOC since we add to it every day instead of paying it down. Or maybe it's more like a reverse mortgage where the bank owns you home in the end.
Also, the bigger issue is that the family spending is almost twice the income.
My real point is that the congress makes a big deal about making budget cuts when in the family example they really only cut $385 from their over spending.
If you pay attention to their proposals they will say we are cutting 1Trillion over the next ten years. Not $1 trillion from the debt but rather $1 trillion from their proposed over spending.
Yes, I noticed the 1 T cut was spread out over 10Y too which is comparable to the family example. Thanks for the creative approach of removing the 0's in the comparison-it's the kind of perspective clarity people need to wrap their minds around the subject.
Ok, but what you don't realize is that, luckily for now, our debts don't affect us as much as they should, since many people are not trying to cash in on American products. Instead, they use it to trade among themselves. If anything, we should just envelope Europe in the dollar and drastically recreate the banking system to provide for stability, (and kick out that son of a bitch, Ben Bernanke), ALSO, the reason that we haven't as of yet seen major inflation is because of modern mass manufacturing that can absorb to some degree the massive inflow of cash. Therefore, they can handle more money supply. If anything, what needs to happen is a sort of cap on who gets to buy commodities such as copper and steal and such, since those are the major areas where inflation these days begins. I'm of course by no means saying that our problems are nonexistant. They are just SOMETIMES overblown.
Do have the simple math for derivatives?
Same for CDS please, too.
Macro economics are a VERY different animal.
http://pragcap.com/resources/understanding-modern-monetary-system
Joe, I like the analogy. Here's my 2 cents:
There are a lot of improvements that need to be made. The list reforms people Americans want to see is long and varied depending on who you talk to. That said, I believe there is one reform that would provide the American people the best chances of seeing other meaningful reforms actually happen - that is REAL, loop-hope free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM! I have seen others on this site calling this the "fulcrum" or pivotal issue. Right now the current legalized bribery, pay-to-play system of campaign donations and paid lobbyists has disenfranchised the American voter. Until this is fixed, any other reform the politicians may try to placate us with (be it a change to healthcare, clamping down predatory school loans, new financial regulations, etc.) will be about as effective as a farmer putting a new roof on his CHICKEN COOP, but still letting the FOX guard it.
We need to go back to the original political currency. Instead of the current system of who can collect the most money from corporations and special interests it should be who has the BEST IDEAS to EFFECTIVELY RUN THE COUNTRY (we don't need "Wealth Redistribution," what we need is "Political Influence Redistribution")!
For the sake our our children and future generations of Americans, we need to take back our democracy from the rich and powerful who are using their vast sums of money to "speak" as if they represent millions of Americans. This "Corporate Personhood" that has crept into our laws is allowing them to manipulating our policies in their favor at the expense of the average American (the recent "Citizens United" Supreme Court ruling is a miscarriage of justice and must be reversed. The $50 or $100 a normal American may give to a political campaign becomes meaningless when corporations or other special interests are handing our millions to buy political access to the decision making process.
For decades now the corporations and special interests have had our "representatives" bought and paid for (both on the right and the left). Concentrating our efforts on getting the money out of our politics is the best way we can create an environment in which further reforms can be realized. Until we end the current system of legalized bribery (campaign donations) and paid lobbying our politicians will continue to be the LAP DOGS of the corporations and special interests. What we need first and foremost is real, loop-hole free CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM!!!! If the corruption is not dealt with first, the chance of any other meaningful reforms becoming a reality is almost zero - the special interests will just use their money to buy votes and put forward bills that create loop-holes or otherwise twist the law in their favor. If we want our children to live in a country where there vote matters, we need to get the money out of our politics, otherwise they will increasingly become the 21st century version of the "landless peasant." Spread the word - End the LEGALIZED BRIBERY!!! CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM needs to be THE main goal of the protests!!!
End the legalized bribery AND the fractional reserve banking system AND bring US industry BACK to our shores. I think starting with your ideas first followed by the second and third would effect a return to the productivity, prosperity and happiness of America.
Who is the credit card company?
Mostly American citizens via Treasury Bonds, pension funds, retirement funds, and the Social Security Trust fund. The rest is held by investors in the UK, China, and many other countries via Treasury Bonds.
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This puts it in easy perspective. I had wondered what the budget cut ratio would look like.
Your national debt is off by at least 10tril also it has been leveraged about 100x. My point is the debt is unplayable also debts rendered illegally can be declared null and void.
the legal term is odious debt but i think that is not on topic - debt is not the problem - read "debt the first 5000 years" or "secrets of the temple" or about the populist movement
America minus Toshiba equals a better place.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/make-a-stand-join-the-clan/
The Revolution starts here!
You have a really bad case of OCD.
I have a 1%er in my sights, and I want them taken down. So, as long as the company isn't walmart, or they aren't in the Republican party, they can do whatever the hell fuck they want and the OWS will just sit on their asses and let it happen? I think it's the perfect place to occupy, and I plan on talking about it.
I think you're just lazy.
You got a bad VCR and you want to take down the corporation that made it.
OCD does not even begin to describe your condition.
Bite me you ignorant hump. You're just some loser who can't cut it in the real world, so you have to come hear for attention. If China were to take over this country and subjugate you like the simple animal you are, you would be as happy as a pig in slop.
Paranoid Personality Disorder and OCD.
Please seek help from your nearest mental health facility.
Go get a job right after you take a bath. You're stinking up the joint.
http://occupywallst.org/forum/make-a-stand-join-the-clan/
The Revolution starts here!
Truth. One more:
Annual government income: $21,700
Ron Paul's 2013 budget: $21,700 (the only candidate to balance the budget)
Did you ever hear that Bill Hicks bit about Clinton in the smokey room with the industrialist capitalist scum fucks?