Mother of all clocks

[Minstrel]

THIS IS INCREDIBLE!

http://www.usdebtclock.org/

 

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[GL]

Bookmarked

 

[Goodyguy]

Very scary numbers. So far this year it looks like my share of the debt is $37,868.00 and my liability is $188,888.00




GG~

 

[Lasivian]

Each time you buy something at Walmart, each time you drive your car, Each time you decide not to save money, each time you buy anything made in China you increase these numbers.

 

[Lasivian]

Business is allowed to take jobs overseas because people are willing to buy things made overseas.

Supply and demand, if people demanded better durable goods junk goods would not sell.

It's like high MPG vehicles are popular while gas is expensive, then people go back to gas guzzlers when it's cheap. You can't legislate what people want.

 

[RON (PA)]

Each time you buy something at Walmart, each time you drive your car, Each time you decide not to save money, each time you buy anything made in China you increase these numbers.

I agree. It is hard to buy domestic any more. Everything is made in China. I will call and and thank companies that are made in the US and buy as much US goods as I can. Why can't our legislators, if they care, put limits on the amount of Chinese junk that we bring in the country

 

[treetop]

Just remember next election and lets vote that bunch of crooks both local and those in washington out of office.We can not let them take our country and freedom from us Stand up america and lets vote that bunch of trash out of office.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Thanks - I bookmarked that also.

Here is a question, now that you can actually see what the numbers are:


How has all this personally affected your lives? What is different now than, say, 2 years ago?

B

 

[spartacus53]

I was getting dizzy looking at it, very scary

 

[Goodyguy]

Thanks - I bookmarked that also.

Here is a question, now that you can actually see what the numbers are:


How has all this personally affected your lives? What is different now than, say, 2 years ago?

B

A lot more people are out of work due to American businesses going bankrupt. Unemployment in my state is over 11% now (only 5% 2 years ago). Inflation along with higher gasoline costs has not only kept us from taking a vacation this year, but has also put a serious strain on our bill paying budget as well. So far I still have a job but after 35 years working for the same company it looks like my job is in serious jeopardy of being cut or the business closed altogether. I haven't been able to get a pay increase to keep up with inflation because the retail business I work for is struggling just to keep their doors open and is now operating with only 4 employees instead of the usual 16.

I don't think I am alone in this situation as most everyone I know is in fear of losing their jobs and are struggling to make ends meet as well.

And with the current administrations lack of understanding of economics (along with other things too numerous to mention), I believe our problems are only going to worsen.


GG~

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Thanks for the reply, Goodyguy,

So, it has affected you by making you worried about your job? (I see your state's statistics and your company's statistics).


I think we really have to think about why everything is made in China. There are very few American products that are better than the competitions,
but they get paid 5 times as much to make it. (it's not just the taxes).

Wal~Mart, the famous punching bag, is as big as they are because people buy their goods - plain and simple. And, in this day and age, everyone is looking for the biggest bang for the buck - everything from store brands (which many do not come from America, by the way), to 99 cent stores, to "factory outlets" (which, by the way, sell overseas goods also).

90% of the industries we have lost were gone overseas a long time ago - not just the last 2 years. Shoes - gone 30 years ago, women's blouses, gone about 25 years ago, steel - gone about 15 years ago.

Most multi-million dollars business in the United States - Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Sears, Kimberly Clark - the big guys, have multi-national businesses. They don't just sell to other nations, they MAKE product in other nations - everywhere from China, to Mexico.

I don't care who is in office - its not going to stop now. I believe the only way to make a leveler playing field, and still keep our highest in the world salaries, is to pay tariffs on ALL products that are made across the oceans and are sold here, even if the main office is still in the United States. If it's made in another country, it pays a tariff. (yes, I know this is very controversial, but I see no other way to make companies (big companies, because the small guy always works and produces here, for the most part). And, as far as I'm concerned, it is still free trade - they are free to sell and trade here - but it has to have an "inspection fee" (tariff), and we SHOULD inspect them, because we are getting too much garbage from other places - hmm - melamine in your cereal? Yes, please.

Plus, we can hire the manpower needed to inspect the garbage, so, more jobs.

B

 

[ClonedSIM]

Thanks for the reply, Goodyguy,

So, it has affected you by making you worried about your job? (I see your state's statistics and your company's statistics).


I think we really have to think about why everything is made in China. There are very few American products that are better than the competitions,
but they get paid 5 times as much to make it. (it's not just the taxes).

Wal~Mart, the famous punching bag, is as big as they are because people buy their goods - plain and simple. And, in this day and age, everyone is looking for the biggest bang for the buck - everything from store brands (which many do not come from America, by the way), to 99 cent stores, to "factory outlets" (which, by the way, sell overseas goods also).

90% of the industries we have lost were gone overseas a long time ago - not just the last 2 years. Shoes - gone 30 years ago, women's blouses, gone about 25 years ago, steel - gone about 15 years ago.

Most multi-million dollars business in the United States - Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Sears, Kimberly Clark - the big guys, have multi-national businesses. They don't just sell to other nations, they MAKE product in other nations - everywhere from China, to Mexico.

I don't care who is in office - its not going to stop now. I believe the only way to make a leveler playing field, and still keep our highest in the world salaries, is to pay tariffs on ALL products that are made across the oceans and are sold here, even if the main office is still in the United States. If it's made in another country, it pays a tariff. (yes, I know this is very controversial, but I see no other way to make companies (big companies, because the small guy always works and produces here, for the most part). And, as far as I'm concerned, it is still free trade - they are free to sell and trade here - but it has to have an "inspection fee" (tariff), and we SHOULD inspect them, because we are getting too much garbage from other places - hmm - melamine in your cereal? Yes, please.

Plus, we can hire the manpower needed to inspect the garbage, so, more jobs.

B

 

[Goodyguy]

Thanks for the reply, Goodyguy,

So, it has affected you by making you worried about your job? (I see your state's statistics and your company's statistics).

Mrs. O,

It has affected my life in many ways, worrying about loosing my job is only one of the side effects.

I am a survivor, the loss of my job, while inconvenient will not keep me from surviving. I am presently working on securing a small business that is fairly inflation proof as it provides a necessary service.

Greed has put this country in the situation it is in. However, greed will not be able to pull us out.
The greed that sells our country's future down the tubes for fast cash now with no regard for the consequences later, is why we are in this mess.

I learned in 5th grade economics that importing more goods than exporting is a recipe for economic disaster.
Yet this country continues to do so. Why? Because big business only looks at profit not ethics! American oil companies sell American oil to other countries instead of ours because they will pay more for it, thus more profit for the oil companies at our expense. Then they buy oil from OPEC and sell it to us for a profit as well.

One of the biggest drains on our economy today is the dollars going out to OPEC for our needed oil to provide transportation for our goods and services and getting ourselves around. Those dollars leave this country to the tune of billions a day never to return. The higher price at the pump causes every single product we consume to be a higher price at the store because it had to be transported.

Every time you fill your gas tank, kiss your money goodbye to a foreign country who will soon have all our money, at the rate we are filling our tanks, and buying non American products. Plus every American owned company that outsources labor to foreign countries is selling our future down the drain as well, just to make a larger profit now.

And our government will not do anything about it as long as greedy politicians continue to get their cut and only act like they are concerned about the welfare of the common man. All the while lining their pockets with money from big business.

Mrs O, I believe it does matter who is in office, Remember Reaganomics, and a balanced budget. The right man with the right vision could turn this mess around. Fat chance of one getting elected though, due to the money to be gained and the favors that have to be paid just to get elected in the first place. According to the debt clock, our country is over 11 trillion dollars in debt ($11,723,000,000,000.00) and it's rising every second.

You are absolutely right about the trade deficit, and until we have leadership that is not in the pocket of big business, the national debt is just going to continue to rise.




GG~

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Goodyguy,

Good post - but, I do see that it has affected people you know, but not you (just like not me).

I liked Reagan, but trickle down still doesn't work. Never has, never will. The economy is much like the "global warming" issue - it rises and it falls.

If the economy goes bad during a republican rule, what you will hear is: Hey, the president isn't responsible for everything. If a democrat is in office, what you will hear is: Hey, its the president's fault.

The last eight years will take us 12 years to straighten out - from the housing issues and foreclosures, to health care and our retirement funds.
(jmo).

I see it hurting people - but I also see some people making a pretty good buck.

The people with the bucks do not want the people without the bucks to raise their status.

If you work for someone else - you will never have what they have, unless you inherit it, hit the lottery or steal it.

Most Americans can and will pull themselves up by their bootstraps. But the follks with the big bucks don't want you to even have boots, because the minutes you have what THEY have, they become average.

Trickle down never worked. And, I look around me, and everyone is still doing what they always did.


Nothing has really changed. (the people going bankrupt, and the businesses laying off - are mostly laying off because THEY are not making the big bucks they were making before, so, they throw their workers to the dogs.


B

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

All you have to look at is any owner of a big business and their employees.

If their profit margin is not improving, benefits always get stalled, or removed, or the company is "down-sized".

Nobody's government gives something to their people that people haven't already paid for (one way or another). Any and all governments get their money from their cash cows - the people, starting with their personal income.

B

 

[Goodyguy]

The United States is almost 12 trillion dollars in debt.

Here is some perspective on 1 trillion only.

One trillion seconds ago – 31,688 years – Neanderthals stalked the plains of Europe.

One trillion $1,000.00 bills stacked on top of each other would be a stack 67.9 miles high.

The population of California is about 34 million. One trillion people would equal 29,500 Californias.

Texas is roughly 270,000 square miles. One trillion square miles would equal 3.7 million Texas size states.

One trillion square miles is, in fact, about 20 Earths, since we have 50 billion square miles of land above sea level.

If you travel around the world at the equator 40 million times, you would travel one trillion miles.

One trillion dollar bills laid end-to-end would stretch from the earth to the sun … and back … with a lot of miles to spare.

The budget for the entire state of New York is $121 billion. With one trillion dollars, you could run 8 states the size of New York.

Roughly 500,000 gallons of water fall over both sides of Niagara Falls each second. One trillion gallons would equal the amount of water that falls in a little over three weeks.

With one trillion dollars, you could buy 50 aircraft carriers such as the USS Ronald Reagan and outfit each of them with 45 of the newest fighter jet, the F-22 Raptor.

The US Department of State has a budget of only $36 billion. We could run the State Department until 2037 with one trillion dollars.

You could build 500 personal space shuttles for one trillion dollars.

Speaking of the shuttle, it costs $450 million to launch it. For one trillion dollars we could launch the shuttle over 2,200 times.

Excluding the cost of the current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we could run the entire Defense Department (most of which is pensions, btw) for 2 years with one trillion dollars.

One trillion dollars today would allow you buy Coca Cola, Apple, IBM, Bank of America, Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Motorola, AT&T, as well as Exxon Mobil and STILL have enough left over to live comfortably on just the interest from the billions left over– not to mention the profits these companies generate.

One trillion seconds is longer than recorded history, 31,688 years.

It would take every single man, woman, child, in the USA (305 million people) to donate 39 thousand dollars each, just for us to break even on todays debt.




GG~

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Like any industry.

B



The budget for the entire state of New York is $121 billion. With one trillion dollars, you could run 8 states the size of New York


And yet, we are running 50 states, (not 8) plus 162 government agencies in other countries, plus 2 wars, and 304,059,724 citizens, Social Security, Veterans Benefits, Medicare, Medicaid, paying an entire legislature (including the POTUS), Welfare, national charities, Parks, Federal Lands, aide to many many countries - hmmmmmm, I could name a lot more things, too.

(not that we should be in debt, your statement - which I also got in 3 of my emails that went around - just gave me some new perspective.

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

Let's be a little real, ok?

One administration didn't do all of the mess we are in. The country learned a lesson in '29, and then, over the years, it has all been forgotten.

Plus, hopefully, for a few years, we have learned, again, that self-regulation is a myth of gigantic proportions. (in the business world).

B

 

[mrs.oroblanco]

It is absolutely impossible to be correct by saying that.

Obama, so far, doesn't even have his first budget. (you will be able to say that next year). The budget that Obama is running on is Bush's. The budgets passed at the end of every year is in effect for the entire next year. At the beginning of 2010, we will be running on Obama's first budget.
(and yes, it will be huge).

But, I am absolutely sure that, after spending 8 years increasing the public debt by 2.5 trillion dollars, and Obama's projected 4.9 trillion by 2016, that we will have to see what he does in the next couple of years.

I'm curious though, just how much of those millions, billions, spent by Bush to banks etc., have trickled down? Lending is SO much better, there are only a few foreclosures now, & unemployment has gone down by double digits.

Of course, Obama's "trickle up" did nothing - Cash for Clunkers didn't do a single thing - just thousands of new cars bought, and car companies who have their first profits in 5 years.

Seriously, though, Obama WILL have to start bringing the budget back in line in a year or so. (it couldn't happen this year, with all the bailouts, nor next year - still because of bailout promises and other things, but by 2011 - 2012, things have to start coming back into a normal state. (not Bush normal) - but financially adequate.

B

 

[Lasivian]

I believe the issue is that we're sending too much "work" overseas.

If US citizens do not have US jobs making decent US wages then we're just bleeding money to foreign nations.

Corporations have too much power and too little regulation and they're draining us dry.