$14,144,355,000,000 USD

[Tim754]

That is the debt of the USA as of today according to the  "financial news" reports!!! Of course that is great work financial news fellows ,reporting on the horrendous mess and crimes you were and still are a key player in..

[Tim754]

14,144,355,000,000 does not fit on desk top calculator!!!

[Marc.com]

Yeah well works out that if you spent a million dollars a day since the birth of Christ you still are not there.

What this effectively does is take the biggest economy in the world and then some out of the game for the foreseeable future, so don't count on that recession being over.

[oldyzman]

Is that 14 trillion, I heard a rumour that america was gunna give Hawaii to china to clear some debt...
Brett

[DR]

that would be 14 trillion I assume quite obviously they don't care for the hundreds of thousands or parts there-of anymore

China could make a replica of Hawaii for a tenth of the price Brett will have to list it on eBay if they want it sold. eBay seller ID Obama1

[oldyzman]

Also heard recently that US owed china 2.Something trillion in bank bills. I dont know if they owe china apart from this.. But even if they give hawaii to china then they would still owe 10t to others. Quite sincerely though Poor USA. Most of europe is in minus, Oz is now also thanks to Rudd and co, Sth America is screwed etc etc So tell me what country has all of the $$$ or is someone fudging the figures. the mind boggles.
Brett

[firko]

               god bless capitalism and free enterprise, it seems to work a real treat

[mudguard]

Also heard recently that US owed china 2.Something trillion in bank bills. I dont know if they owe china apart from this.. But even if they give hawaii to china then they would still owe 10t to others. Quite sincerely though Poor USA. Most of europe is in minus, Oz is now also thanks to Rudd and co, Sth America is screwed etc etc So tell me what country has all of the $$$ or is someone fudging the figures. the mind boggles.
Brett

Got to be those oil rich countries with all the money, Abu Dhabi & Bahrain. They have the best buildings, and car race tracks. Wonder what they pay for fuel?? Their barrel price, might equal our Litre price at the pump. 

[Lozza]

About 75% of the debt would be the defence budget

[VMX247]

About 75% of the debt would be the defence budget

Are they that scared !! 

So really all this debt means, is we can go on a VMX wild spending spree on Marks Swapmeet and ebay for another 50 odd year -- love it   
cheers A

[Marc.com]

So tell me what country has all of the $$$ or is someone fudging the figures. the mind boggles.
Brett

Actually nobody has it in cash apart from a couple of bankers of my acquaintance, this is the new debt based economic model, where debt became an asset, clever huh.

I was talking to my Goldman friends, consensus is debt restructuring, that the US will finally have to cut a deal with its major creditors for instance China who will accept that now their 2 trillion in US T Bills is only worth enough for dinner, quick and painless and life goes on. All you then have to do is maintain confidence in the dollar so everyone doesn't sell them immediately. No mean trick.

I am not blaming Mr Rudd Australia is not immune and it has its own personal debt house of cards.

[Mike52]

I read somewhere that China holds a heap of US bonds and that they fall due soon.
The Chinese have apparently asked that the payment NOT be in USD.
Woops.
What would happen if America gave Hawaii to the Chineese ?
Does America OWN Hawaii ?
What about the Hawaiians, would they be pissed?
[ Yes they would , I know this for a fact ]
What about the rest of the American people would they feel betrayed and would the union collapse in a screaming heap?
What about the Japs who already own half of Hawaii ?
Man o man what a mess.

[Marc.com]

I read somewhere that China holds a heap of US bonds and that they fall due soon.
The Chinese have apparently asked that the payment NOT be in USD.
Woops.

Ah and there you have it, the Chinese can ask what ever they want but they are a new comer to this market economy game and have far less economic power than the US, plus by holding their currency artificially low have contributed to the US being where it is.

The trump card the US holds is that global trade in everything is primarily done in USD, they are not impacted by devaluation the same way the Chinese are. I would say devaluation is a real option if you can survive running at higher interest rates.

[Nathan S]

I read somewhere that China holds a heap of US bonds and that they fall due soon.
The Chinese have apparently asked that the payment NOT be in USD.
Woops.

The US dollar probably still looks good compared to the Zimbabwian dollar... Maybe they could pay China with Zimbabwian dollars?

Honestly, I can only see this ending in WW3.

Brett, I'm loath to make this another thread about politics, but do you not see the hole in your statement? "The whole world's economy is screwed, but it was Rudd's fault"... Particularly seeing as we fared the best of every country...

[mx250]

At least the Yanks are open and transparent about the issue. You'll find the Europeans are not far behind. They have a similar problem but it not as obvious because the total is divided up between many - and not published on the web as a dramatic clock.

And we shouldn't be too comfortable. Our Fed Govt is good but don't ask too many questions of your state and local council - there is at least 4 Sydney councils bordering on bankruptcy. And I don't think the NSW govt is far behind. The elections will be interesting. Anyone want to bet that a whole lot more will be revealed after the elections.

The whole credit based consumer economy is flawed, whether it is individual or national. It's called 'living beyond your means'. It is not the entire economy being unproductive but there is a significant portion of forth and bubble. Those parts of the economy that concentrate wealth rather than create wealth - real estate, stock market but two, but a very significant two.

And that's the problem, neither the yanks nor anyone else wants to move away from that economic model. We all want to believe in the 'free lunch', that money 'grows on tree', that we can retire on our property wealth because we are lucky enough to have the family home go from $40,000 to $400,000 in 20 years -  we 'made money'. Yeah! really?