Monday, October 17, 2011

The Economist: Global Debt Clock - Some Countries Look More Dead Than Others

The world is toast and Japan is a basket case. And Japan's new Finance Minister pledged (though no one demanded it) 5% hike in consumption tax at G20 so that the new Japanese administration continue more government wasteful spending like inviting 10,000 foreigners and IAEA to Japan and building a cancer hospital for Dr. Yamashita.

The UK paper The Economist has an interactive "global debt clock". Here's a screen shot with the public (government) debt burden per capita for Japan, the US, and Greece (basket case in EU). The numbers don't include the future government obligations like pensions and medical care programs.

I don't know how The Economist is counting the US public debt; the last I checked (conveniently on this blog, in the left column), it was well over US$14 trillion, approaching 15 trillion. But taking the numbers from The Economist, Japan has more public (government) debt than the US with the population about 40% that of the US.

Per capita public debt, according to The Economist:

  • Japan: $86,262

  • US: $33,555

  • Greece: $34,304

Per capita public debt of the US is approaching that of the EU basket case. When George W. Bush took office, it was $10,836. When Barack Obama took office, it was $19,945. In 2012, it is expected to be $37,952, according to The Economist.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yikes. I'm an economic newbie, how has China managed to remain relatively low, debt wise? Their undervalued dollar and high GDP?

Anonymous said...

That's a bizarre map. It's the first time I heard that Germany had a higher public debt that Spain and Portugal.
But the US are toast, that's for sure.

Anonymous said...

"how has China managed to remain relatively low, debt wise?"

force your population to work for $50 a month and tear up the environment with mega dams.

sell lots of cheap junk, and even cheaper expensive junk, like trains that crash and then get buried.

the norm of today's china will be the norm of all those nations in red - it's called parity, and it's approaching.

and china will sell their mother (but you find later it was actually someone else mother).

Anonymous said...

Interesting how Canada and the US appear as one. Is Canada as in debt as the US? I would have thought not.

Anonymous said...

It would be interesting to have this data (mainly debt per capita) in a second version including some kind of "Big-Mac" index (no hidden ad here, i am slow food fan...)
but good post anyway - The Economist is a very serious paper.

Anonymous said...

The Econo Mist - Commie heaven up to its Red color... How funny it is – isn’t it - that Karl was the founder of the League of the Just, one sector of the papal illuminati.

One of the worst public opinion counterfeiters... comment eliminator. Only populist MSM 'opinions' allowed to stick.

So what is really behind this map -program? If data is somehow true and not TEPCOfuku, interesting.

Anonymous said...

print more yen & pay off the debt

Anonymous said...

TEPCO Homer and Japan Government Marge in Bed

TEPCO Chairmaniac Homer Simpson says "OOPS, we got 3 nuclear meltdowns while I was having my donut. Sorry about that, forgot to fix those problems listed in the fake safety reports years ago." Japan Government Premiere Marge Simpson (in bed with Homer), says "Oh my gosh! Isnt that very dangerous?" TEPCO Homer Simpson: "Ha ha ha, not to us, because were nowhere near. Only those fools in northern half of Japan will have radiation." Japan Government Marge: "Oh My? Isnt radiation very dangerous?" TEPCO Chairman Homer: "Its not dangerous at all if your not in northern half of Japan. HA HA HA." Japan Government Marge: "Shouldnt we worry about all those citizens and kids with radiation all around?". TEPCO Maniac Homer: "Well we already made our billions and your stupid government is repaying the billions we lost in Fuckushima, so who cares about those losers with radiation?" Japan Government Marge: "Yep, your right, who cares about all those stupic taxpayers, lets just rip them off for tax funds for you dear, and lets not tell them anything about this scary radiation accident." TEPCO Charmaniac: "Yes, lets just keep this little sceret between us. Lets just tell them the radiation was just a tiny tiny little bit more than normal, and by the way, its not harmful anyway. We always say that lie. HA HA HA. Actually its 1,000,000 times more than we said, but those idiot citizens will never know. And even if they find out, who cares? We already bought off all the politicians." Japan Government Marge: "Dear, why is that geiger counter in your briefcase with all that money making all that noise? I though you said we were safe here?" TEPCO Chairmaniac Homer: "Duh? OOPS." as he dies of radiation sickness. Japan Premiere Marge: "Oh my, isnt that cute, TEPCRAPPO is killed by their own crappo. ha ha ha. Oops, whose going to give us all that bribe money now? Honey Tepcrappo, please wake up you stupid fat dead fish Tepcocrappo...".

Anonymous said...

They had it coming since Bretton Woods 2.

I wish the Economist were genuinely communist, instead I had to endure Clinton's stupid face in it through the 1990s. May he and the Bushes go to hell and be stuck on the same pitchfork as Thatcher and Reagan.

Or go and stay in Fallujah with their children and grandchildren... which brings us back to the original question whether the Japanese "leaders" are even worse than the aforementioned. Fallujah vs. Fukushima. Hmm. That's a hard one.

Anonymous said...

" May he and the Bushes go to hell and be stuck on the same pitchfork as Thatcher and Reagan. "

LOL!!!

Anonymous said...

pitchfork:

They have an old common denominator, 'Royal club' incl Bill the bomber, Woodrow Wilson, Roosevelt, Hirohito, Himmler, Dhjugasvhili ... (Looong list, no end in sight.)

... with The Ism -Father of Terror.

See UNholy see emissary, the jۤuit priest Ante Pavelic who collected Serbian eyes in buckets... gold teeth in vat-i-can vaults

Spend a week here with Royal NATO Balkan facts, then return.
www.srpska-mreza.com

Anonymous said...

" I'm an economic newbie, how has China managed to remain relatively low, debt wise? Their undervalued dollar and high GDP"

1. As a Communist nation, real debt figures can be easily hidden. China has far more debt than is reported.

2. China has over a billion people, or more than 3 times (almost 4) the number of people. Most of China population doesn't contribute to it real GDP (living on subsistence farming), but are counted. Its probable that only about 300 Million Chinese play an active role in GDP and Debt, and should be accounted for, but is not.

Post a Comment