I just lurv the tagline in this post:

Average American Owes Average Chinese $4000

It sums up everything that is problematic about “our” economy. Did you sign a promisary to Yueh T’en-Chih, resident of south side Beijing? I sure didn’t. And yet, you and I will pay, and pay, and pay…and Ms. Yueh is unlikely to see that money, if she’s a Bad Han and reads Chinese blogs.

Seriously, what’s going on here? How did we get to the point where you and I “owe” people on the other side of the planet four grand, and rising? Um, does that include my 3 year old nephew? Cause I’m fairly sure he isn’t legally resposible for any debt yet. We buy him toys without lead, usually made in the US or Yurp.

Sometimes, I just can’t wrap my brain around it- why do people accept this? I’m not trying to be racist and pick on the Chinese, this same sort of post could be made for any of the larger foreign debt-holders who’ve propped up the Bush regime’s irresponsible spending habits these last eight years. Still, I do wonder- what is the breaking point? What will “we” sacrifice, in order to make good on promises made by people who have essentially run this country into the ground…for nothing?  Read more 

So, let me run this silly post by you, due to a phone conversation I just had with an econ-minded friend.

If a stranger, with a gun, walked up to you and your family, and pointed it at you, and said, “give me 30 grand, and another 60 for your wife and kid, Right Now, or I’ll kill you!” would you do it?  Read more 

Financial alliteration or economic obfuscation?

From King W. in his press “briefing” on September 20:

The deficit, as a percent of GDP, is low. It’s lower than the 30-year average.

Sounds great! Our federal financial house is in better order than it has been in 30 years!

Maybe not:

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress on Wednesday the government will hit the current debt ceiling on Oct. 1. He sought quick action to increase the limit, saying it was essential to protect the “full faith and credit” of the country, especially at a time of financial market turmoil.
The limit is $8.965 trillion. Unless Congress votes to raise it, the country would be unable to borrow more money to keep the government operating and to pay debt obligations coming due.

Boy, I wish I could just “increase my debt ceiling” and avoid all those pesky financial restrictions on my life…  Read more 

Again, let me stress how little I know about econ. That said, I think Sean-Paul knows a great deal, and like him, I’m kinda blown away by this

I had to re-read this today, I just couldn’t believe it. Brazil has erased all of its debt? No way!
Yes way, says Morgan Stanley’s Steven S. Roach:

Brazil, now the poster child of external debt reduction, is on a trajectory to eliminate its foreign indebtedness altogether within the next month or two — an amazing transformation from the angst of January 2003, when the country’s net external indebtedness stood at $64 billion.

Are we witnessing a multigenerational wealth transfer from “developed economies” to “developing economies?” A reversion to the pre-colonial mean?  Read more