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Old 09-29-2008, 02:44 PM  
Tempest
Too lazy to set a custom title
 
Industry Role:
Join Date: May 2004
Location: West Coast, Canada.
Posts: 10,217
Quote:
Originally Posted by pigman View Post
Dont worry, USA can borrow a lot more money without collapsing.
Public debt (% of GDP) just a few countries with more debt than the US.

Japan 195.50%
Italy 104.00%
Germany 63.10%
United States 60.80%

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...by_public_debt
The only problem with those numbers is that it's based on % of GDP and since a portion of GDP is government spending, it can be manipulated by the government.. For example, the USA is at war and spending billions more than normal and thus that pushes their GDP up.

I prefer to look at it in terms of debt per capita as I feel it's a more accurate representation... Closest I could find was this one with external debt.. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._external_debt

189,855 - UK
68,183 - France
54,604 - Germany
42,343 - United States
39,446 - Italy
22,801 - Canada
11,682 - Japan

When it comes having the dollar backed by gold, the markets now consider a curency backed by the resources of the country.. So for example, our Oil production that has grown considerably over the last few years is just one of the reasons our currency has gotten stronger.
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