[Lucky Jim]

If there's one thing I know absolutely nothing about it's Economics!
America is supposed to be one of the richest countries in the world, so how can she have a national debt of 16 trillion dollars????
And who exactly is the debt owed to? Has America had to borrow from other countries or what?
According to news articles she ranks 7th in the "ability to compete on the world's stage", and Britain ranks even worse at 8th, so what the heck is going on? It means there are 6 better off countries ranked higher than the US and Britain, so why are they better off?

 

[Lucky Jim]

Okay thanks...I think! I'll try to digest it but send out search parties if I don't make it back..
I try to look at everything in an ultra-simplistic way, for example suppose I was the ruler of a small country with say a million tax-paying inhabitants who each pay 10 dollars tax a week.
That means an incredible 10 million dollars would be coming into the national coffers every week which could be used to build hospitals schools,factories,roads and railways etc to put a smile on my peoples faces bigger than waves on slop buckets..
As long as I didn't spend more than 10 mill a week I'd never be in debt would I?
Or am I being oversimplistic?

 

[Lucky Jim]

Okay thanks, in that case I seem to know more than world leaders about economics because I'd never spend more tax money than is coming in..
Are politicians therefore just dumb shits or what?
As that news item says, the USA national debt was 10.6 trill when Obama took office, but has since climbed to 16 trill under his "leadership".
Is he to blame, or would the same also have happened under any other President?
How could he have stopped the debt climbing, or was it unstoppable?