Heard an interesting report on the radio today - - American household net worth has dropped to $ 56 Trillion. Remember that includes everything including peoples homes, bank accounts, investments, etc. http://www.fundmasteryblog.com/2008/06/06/56-trillion-american-net-worth/ (Note that this figure is based on pre-bail out numbers.) I also watched a video recently with an interview of a former U.S. Comptroller General - - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msPb565gLso&feature=related He stated that the actual Federal debt including off book obligations (Soc Sec, Medicare, etc, etc) is $ 56 Trillion Nothing new of course, but ain't that wonderful ? We are collectively . . . flat broke. And, because it doesn't include the bailouts or proposed massive government spending, and the further decline of the real estate market since the report was done in June - - its likely to be worse now & get even worse in the future. (Theres a link to more current govt data in the article above.) Is it any wonder that some politicians, business people, union people, etc are grabbing all they can while they still can ?
The only way to arrive at the $56 trillion figure is to include future obligations. Comparing current net worth against future obligations does not make sense.
yeah. my future net worth will be 10x what it is now. your not including that, but your including SS and medicare? if anything kind of sounds good because you have the earnings potential of the USA with 0 debt current assets-current libilitys-futures liabilities
Oh this is getting fun ! They can come up with numbers for the future obligation based on population, mortality charts, etc. Unless all those old people & boomers decide to pull the plug early, we've got that number. - - Now all we have to do is pull another number out of the air and say our net worth will be 10x more or whatever in the future than it is now and it'll all work out great. (Hmmm, 'net worth' - wasn't that what drove so many people to run out there & spend with home equity loans base on the supposed asset 'value' of their homes? ) Of course the boomers will be going into retirement spending mode. And, the groups following them of young people are smaller than the boomers. So, who knows what will come along to generate that productivity and net worth increase? Maybe we can plug in a figure for "Mystery X Technology" that will iincrease our future net worth by 100x ! Maybe they'll come up with that device they had in the galley on those old Star Trek shows where they just pushed a button and any type of food was instantly synthesized from out of surrounding random molecules. Govt. accounting is a snap - - and so fun and creative. Damned, - - I just hope the Chinese will buy this line for a little longer ! P.S. - - personally I don't trust any of their numbers. I don't imagine that they are actually better than theyre reporting though.
US Gov't future obligations can change in a flash...they just need to pass a law to change the SS retirement age, adjust Medicare benefits, etc... that's why comparing cumulative future obligations against current net worth is pointless...
O.K. guys, you make some good points. - - Sometimes we get caught up "looking at the trees, instead of the forrest". So, do you think we're in good long term shape, or bad ? Why ? Regards, - - -
Yes and no. The total dollar value of all US public and private debt is somewhere around 60 Trillion. Thats the total monetary base. We live under a debt-money system. Every dollar in circulation - electronic or paper - represents debt. All debt generates interest. That 60+ Trillion dollars is generating interest at roughly 1 - 3%, per year. Thats the slow motion logic bomb that will drop this Country in a few years if the Market Blowup does not.
agreed And that money debt generates an interest obligation payable . . . in even more $ money symbol debt. The market blow-up was just a symptom of the inevitable results that come from out of that logic bomb