Whilst the USA is content to throw massive largesse around the world, we must question where all of that money is coming from. I don’t mean to lecture anyone on international trade, the US national debt or anything like that. Just be aware that the USA is a resource hog and when it offers this largesse there is a chance that it is YOUR largesse.
Following on from this long held opinion of mine, I have just been to look at a couple of sites that you should find interesting:
the brillig.com debt clock is a static counter whereas the usdebtclock.org clocks are all being updated constantly.
One aspect of the brillig clock is that it shows essentially the same information as the usdebtclock but it contains one fascinatingly ridiculous feature … cents.
At the moment the brillig clock is showing the US National Debt as $13,797,894,101,794.17 … as if such a massive number could really ever be accurate to within 17 cents!
In terms of the US Federal Deficit as a percentage of GDP, that has risen dramatically of late, as you can see here: http://www.usgovernmentspending.com/federal_deficit_chart.html The current percentage is around 10.6% whereas five years ago it was reported to be just 2.5%. Omitting the second world war blip, it is now at its highest ever.
As a matter of interest, do you know where the word brillig comes from … in English, anyway? Answers on a postcard to the usual address.
DW
