Is America going broke?
By catsk123
@catsk123 (96)
United States
January 12, 2007 4:20pm CST
US national debt 1/12/07 is $8,676,605,675,084.60!A trillion is a hard number to wrap your head around. Most people know it is a thousand billion- 12 zeros. So put it this way; a trillion US dollars is roughly the size of the entire Canadian economy.
Within the next 5 to 10 years the US government will not be able to borrow money fast enough to keep up with its exploding expenses. Americas economy will collapse under the weight of unsustainable debt.
Why should other countries care? Millions of workers gobally are directly or indirectly dependent on a healthy US market for their goods. A severe downturn in the US would drag the rest of the world down with it.
3 people like this
4 responses
@korek222 (701)
• Poland
12 Jan 07
I tihnk USA has too big economic growth to be broke in any time ever. Usa is too rich and too well developed to make it even close to be broke in any possible way. But even if they will be close to be broken then will surely cut the expenses to have more much to spend on crucial things and to keep out of getting broke!
1 person likes this
@simplechic (200)
• United States
13 Jan 07
It wouldn't surprise me one tiny bit because of the way the US economy is being handled/distributed...to meaningless 'projects' like the war in Iraq which has already cost over 500 BILLION dollars. I say meaningless because Iraq had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. So what if they kept on killing each other? I'm not trying to sound cruel. It's just that Bush wants to 'clean up' a country without taking out the trash at home. Why doesn't Bush just say, 'lets use this money to rebuild New Orleans' for example??? Why in the world did he go after Saddam if the confessed mastermind of 9/11 was Osama Bin Laden...who had NOTHING to do with Saddam nor with Iraq??? There goes more much needed money wasted on an unnecessary 'cause'.
@sigma77 (5383)
• United States
12 Jan 07
If you look at the real numbers, yes this country is broke. Considering all the promises that the governemnt has made to pay future benefits to millions of people, something will have to give. Either benefits will have to be cut or taxes raised significantly.
Either way, the day of reckoning is moving closer. Eventually, in maybe 20 or 30 years, the US will fall behind China and then India. The congress of this country is gutless. The result will be socialism and economic decay. I am not saying this because I am a pessimist. The financial facts seem to point in that direction.
