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DieselAddict · #1 08-27-2005, 01:49 PM

I just read a very informative article about the state of our economy. It's fairly long but a good read. Overall I'm getting the impression that Americans want to have the pie and eat it too and some fiscal discipline, both from the government and the public, is much needed. A few interesting quotes:

Quote:

You owe $145,000. And the bill is rising every day. That's how much it would cost every American man, woman and child to pay the tab for the long-term promises the U.S. government has made to creditors, retirees, veterans and the poor.

Quote:

The AP/Ipsos poll of 1,000 adults taken July 5-7 found that a sweeping majority - 70 percent - worried about the size of the federal deficit either "some" or "a lot."

But only 35 percent were willing to cut government spending and experience a drop in services to balance the budget. Even fewer - 18 percent - were willing to raise taxes to keep current services. Just 1 percent wanted to both raise taxes and cut spending. The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.

Quote:

At the same time, the government provides more services to the public than it can afford to - and goes into debt to cover the cost.

Other nations actually purchase that debt, in the form of U.S. Treasury bonds and notes. Those bonds have increasingly been snapped up not just by private investors but by foreign banks. Japanese investors hold the most U.S. debt, but China has been buying more than any other country in recent months.

The biggest trade deficit is with China, too, at $162 billion. Japan is next, at $75 billion.

In a very real sense, the U.S. economy is dependent on the central banks of Japan, China and other nations to invest in U.S. Treasuries and keep American interest rates down. The low rates here keep American consumers buying imported goods.

To read the whole article:
http://apnews1.iwon.com//article/20050827/D8C88SP80.html?PG=home&SEC=news