Great Depression’ ahead?

[cassowary]

The biggest threat to the world economy is government debt. The US, EU, and Japan are highly in debt. How did this happen?

Government debt is only problematic if it is placed abroad.

True to some extent. They can always print more money. But you will get inflation.

Or you can make the payments and everything is fine.

True. But the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

[Sertorio]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

[cassowary]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

That's absurd. First of all, I am talking about government debt. It is the people who forced the governments to overspend.

Second, nobody is forcing people to spend. It is up to the individual. Leftists don't like to take responsibility. Whether you prosper of fail, it is up to you. No one else to blame. So if you spend too much, blame the guy in the mirror.

[SteveFoerster]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

LOL, I was saying on another forum just the other say there should be annual awards for the most ridiculous instances of "blame capitalism!". This would surely be a contender....

[Sertorio]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

LOL, I was saying on another forum just the other say there should be annual awards for the most ridiculous instances of "blame capitalism!". This would surely be a contender....

Maybe you have forgotten already what the subprime crisis was all about...

[neverfail]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

LOL, I was saying on another forum just the other say there should be annual awards for the most ridiculous instances of "blame capitalism!". This would surely be a contender....

Maybe you have forgotten already what the subprime crisis was all about...

Maybe you are unaware of the role played by US government mismanagement in bringing the subprime mortgage crisis about:

http://content.time.com/time/specials/p ... 22,00.html

[SteveFoerster]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

LOL, I was saying on another forum just the other say there should be annual awards for the most ridiculous instances of "blame capitalism!". This would surely be a contender....

Maybe you have forgotten already what the subprime crisis was all about...

Only because you assign every bad thing that happens in a corporatist system to "capitalism" and none of them to the state that actually enables them.

[Sertorio]

...the total debt has grown to dangerous levels. At some point the governments of the US, EU and Japan won't be able to pay.

Why do you think this has come about?

I put it down to a weakness in the one man one vote system which makes making the unpopular decision of cutting spending impossible. The politicians kick the can down the road. But someday the bill will come due.

The problem is not democracy, it's the greed fostered by capitalism. It's capitalists which force people to overspend, in order to maximize their profits.

LOL, I was saying on another forum just the other say there should be annual awards for the most ridiculous instances of "blame capitalism!". This would surely be a contender....

Maybe you have forgotten already what the subprime crisis was all about...

Maybe you are unaware of the role played by US government mismanagement in bringing the subprime mortgage crisis about:

http://content.time.com/time/specials/p ... 22,00.html

I agree that the US governement had some responsibility in the crisis, but all the basic instincts of bankers were pushing the economy towards disaster. One may blame democratic governments for things going wrong, but the association of capitalism and freedom will always end up in disaster. Only a dictatorship - of the nazi German type - may control capitalism enough to avoid some of the major disasters. But if that's what is necessary to have a working capitalist system, I prefer not to have it.

[neverfail]

I agree that the US governement had some responsibility in the crisis, but all the basic instincts of bankers were pushing the economy towards disaster. One may blame democratic governments for things going wrong, but the association of capitalism and freedom will always end up in disaster. Only a dictatorship - of the nazi German type - may control capitalism enough to avoid some of the major disasters. But if that's what is necessary to have a working capitalist system, I prefer not to have it.

Canada and Australia are both (allegedly) democracies but with different structures of government to the US. During the Great Depression there was not a single bank closure in the former (in vivid contrast to the USA) while in the latter there was only one insolvency - and that was the state owned State Bank of New South Wales. During the 2007-08 GFC there was not a single bank insolvency in either Dominion nor any bank bailouts (none needed) thanks to sound banking regulations in both.

The GFC did not happen in either. These two were merely affected via their external commercial ties to a greater or lesser extent by the global backwash from the US and European implosions. Canada more so and Australia less so.

So sertorio, please do not blame it on "democracy" or "freedom" nor presume that these two, along with capitalism, necessarily forment economic instability. The performance of the two sister dominions suggests otherwise. It is just that the USA has a structure of government that seems to be almost designed to bring about the mishandling of the nation's economy.

Not helped along by the fact that the two big political parties in the US are in the habit of fielding endorsed candidates to run for president who, while they may present themselves well in front of the TV cameras, usually turn out to be clueless about macro-economic management.

[SteveFoerster]

Not helped along by the fact that the two big political parties in the US are in the habit of fielding endorsed candidates to run for president who, while they may present themselves well in front of the TV cameras, usually turn out to be clueless about macro-economic management.

Which is not surprising, since the entire U.S. mainstream is Keynesian.