Tag Archives: gdp

We did not prevent a default.

They say, now, that the various big men in the United States government have reached an agreement and prevented the US from defaulting for the first time. There are three problems here. First, it is not certain that we have indeed reached an agreement. Everyone would like to think we have, but the final test [...]
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economic numbers to watch

Debt / Government Spending Federal debt / deficit: 14 475 billion / 1389 billion dollars Total government debt:  17 407 billion dollars Inflow / outflow (federal): 2196 billion / 3585 billion Debt-to-GDP ratio: 97.9% Money Supply / Inflation Fed monetary base: 2684 billion dollars, M2 8986 billion MIT inflation / govt. figs: 3.5% / 3.5% [...]
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oil dependency is a two-way street

From time to time, we hear talk of how the U.S. is supposedly at the mercy of Middle Eastern nations. Given the oil shock of ’73 and the nervousness about gas prices since then, it would be tempting to imagine that this popular idea is true. Not so. After the first round of oil troubles, [...]
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numbers to watch in the economic world

We live in fascinating economic times, and though there’s a lot more to it than the numbers, the numbers are fun to watch. And sometimes a bit frightening. Related Posts:gold price hits all-time highfinancial reality strikes again: japan editionWelcome to Treasury Roulette.gold is at 1807gold is at 1767. now it’s at 1772.
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japan, gdp, debt ratio, and the recent disaster

You’ve all heard about what’s going in Japan. I won’t discuss the theological significance, supermoon business, or sheer level of human suffering involved. Others have done that, and better. I pulled an all-nighter last night to finish a paper on Japan’s education system, so now I’m running on zero sleep and trying to put the [...]
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financial reality strikes again: japan edition

When trying to justify the size of the US debt (currently around 110% of GDP), sometimes spendthrifts like to point to Japan, which owes over 200% of GDP.  Look–at Japan, they say.  They’re doing fine.  Not so.  Japanese premier Naoto Kan speaks truth: “Like the confusion in the eurozone triggered by Greece, there is a [...]
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Does this make me alarmist? Maybe . . .

The nation of Greece is currently at the center of a debt meltdown due to its ridiculously high spending habits in the past.  Thanks to out-of-control spending, the Greek national debt has climbed to about 113% of GDP.  A result of that is that investors consider Greek debt more risky, and are only willing to [...]
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On the recent house bill, socialism, etc.

As most likely all of you know, there was a very significant healthcare bill passed yesterday.  A friend of mine went so far as to say (via facebook), Hurray, the United States government just declared the Church is officially off the hook in regards to the care of the sick and infirm. Now all we [...]
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on government spending and the economy

The story that started this train of thought is here. It’s a review of something that happened over 50 years ago, but it’s vitally relevant to us today, especially in light of what is going on with U.S. spending right now.  The basic issue has to do with the question of whether the U.S. needs [...]
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