Who has money and who owes money?

[FluffyMcDeath]

Take a look at the list of countries by current account balance.

Look at all those countries near the top. A lot of them are outright commies or mere "socialist" countries - some dictatorial and some democratic. But were are the UK and the US? Go have a look at the other end of the list down there with the well known basket case of Spain.

Yeeks. The Anglo-American empire only LOOKS wealthy because they have been splurging on VISA.

 

[ilwrath]

though linked from that same sheet, is this one of the current accounts by % of GDP.

That puts the US near the middle of debtors at -5.33%. Not good, but not really anything to sweat too severely. Of course, I'd feel a lot better about it all if we actually had a concrete plan for getting back to spending less than we make.....

Of course, that would involve actually doing productive things and making things, which we seem to be quite allergic to, these days.

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

Not good, but not really anything to sweat too severely.

Debt to GDP is a fairer way to look at it, I agree. But still, nothing to sweat about when the US ratio is marginally worse than Zimbabwe?

 

[ilwrath]

Debt to GDP is a fairer way to look at it, I agree. But still, nothing to sweat about when the US ratio is marginally worse than Zimbabwe?

Well, there is some ugly company there, no doubt. Though I think fundamentally, the US is in a much better position than many of them. For example, no one seems too concerned about the UK's -6.37% or Australia's -7.38%. A single digit negative seems less of an issue for countries that already have an established economy than for ones trying to build one.

Of course, it might just be that when you already have an economy, the world is more likely to issue you that credit we love so much, thus helping to cover up the issue.....

 

[FluffyMcDeath]

For example, no one seems too concerned about the UK's -6.37% or Australia's -7.38%.

Oh yes they are. Quite concerned - at least with respect to internal problems in those countries.

It's just that they are not so worrying internationally because if Australia, for e.g., were to fall over then not so many people will get squashed than if the US was to fall over instead.