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List of countries by their current account balance

en.wikipedia.org — Wow! This is a list of countries and territories by current account balance, in millions of U.S. dollars, equivalence based on The World Factbook. It's sobering to see where the US stands against China.

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  • Bender4Pharoah, on 10/10/2007, -60/+53All yur bank account are belong to us!
    • blitzer, on 10/10/2007, -3/+38Actually.. the people outside the US have the money. You just have the crap you bought.

      It other words "All your crappy Chinese toys are belong to us"

      Unless, of course, you are writting from China.. :)
      • scubasteve377, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6USA! USA!
        We're number one........hundred and sixty-three.

        goddammit, we suck :(
    • ajskhan, on 10/10/2007, -11/+6all that wealth will go down as the dollar goes down...
      • oesj, on 10/10/2007, -4/+20has nothing to do with the dollar. it's just listed in USD, as it's the closest thing to a universal currency.
        • ajskhan, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2I meant as the US goes down, so does the world (minus a few countries) - china is one of them for sure...
          • Tiak, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Actually, for the majority of the world, those bank account numbers go up, as they're listed in USD, and most of these countries aren't dealing mostly in USD.
    • NikoKun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24We're more in debt, than any other country is in wealth... LOL
      And it's a pretty big margin at that... sheesh...
      • Nearoschyth, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6If you wanted to know exactly, we offset just over the surplus of the top eight nations.
        • Tiak, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Or just under all surplus from every nation not in the top 3... Depending on how you look at it.
    • lOvOl, on 10/10/2007, -4/+57Since the United States dollar is the de-facto world reserve currency as well as the pre-eminent military power, it is not surprising that we are also the biggest debtor nation because we can tax the rest of the world at will through inflation. This is akin to what happens when a corporation issues new shares in that the existing investors have their stock devalued. These nations which own so many of our bonds and dollars and other debt backed securities (such as mortgage companies or hedge funds investing in mortgage companies), are effectively investors who are having their stock devalued by the United States issuing more shares whenever it needs to raise more money.

      The unfortunate reality to all of this for the rest of the world, is that as long as the United States is the pre-eminent military power that can project its force across the world, there are no credible alternatives to the dollar. The euro is a joke so long Germany does all the hard work, while the rest of the EU sits on their ass and gets a tan, plus the fact that the EU has no credible and unified military to speak of.

      The golden rule is "he who has the gold, makes the rules" but in reality today it would be more accurate to say "he who has the guns, makes the rules" because every currency on earth is a fiat backed currency that in one way or another is priced relative to the dollar.

      The United States will have to first kill itself (it is doing a great job of it at the moment through its cultural decadence of extravagance with $30,000 weddings being the norm and short-sighted thinking with regards to education), before the dollar loses favor to some other currency, which again is hard to imagine considering they are all fiat currencies as well and traded relative to the dollar. Unless Europe or a European/Russian alliance challenge United States supremacy, don't count on the dollar becoming completely worthless anytime soon.

      If the United States dollar goes down the poop shoot, then it will take the whole world economy along with it. If Russia, China, or the EU have any real plans for bringing America to its knees (which I am sure they do), they realize that when the collapse comes (which will be global), they need to just make sure they come out relatively better off than America both economically and militarily, or else the dollar will remain the world's reserve currency.

      I am far more worried about the United States education system not being as adept at churning out high-tech talent that our military depends on for its supremacy as well as the lazy attitude we have towards espionage than pretty much anything else in the long-term, though second to that would be the worry that Bush's policies with our military lately are having a corrosive effect that will have long-term consequences to recruitment.

      We simply can't go to a draft because any modern military worth a grain of salt has a professional army. However, if you underpay and abuse your professional army like we have been doing lately, then it is logical to assume that retention and recruitment will become a serious problem. If America ever returns to the draft, then our military will in effect be no better than the second-rate militaries of most of the rest of the world.
      • itsthebrod, on 10/10/2007, -25/+4I'm hoping that was a copy/paste from another more meaningful discussion... Otherwise you severely wasted your time writing and posting something so intellectual on a Digg article... Plus you probably would have gotten more diggs had you made a Russian reversal joke...
        • zombies187, on 10/10/2007, -2/+41In soviet Russia, copy pastes you!
          • captainkeene, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2LOL! I burst out laughing reading this response. DUGG!
          • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4It was expected - but I still laughed :-Danke
      • xtraa, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Another problem is that the U.S. is an import-only country. They do not produce anything except parboiled rice, lol. thats why they are really hooked on all the other countries. Bad thing.

        Also U.S. citizens are so in dept, that they have problems to pay it ever back. As a result, look at the immo-crash a few weeks ago. This is not looking too good for the future.

        And the dollar is worth a shyt meanwhile... A mate in the U.S.offered me a job, he said 200 bucks paypaled for me for two days of work. I refused because 200$ is just crappy 140€.


        • GawtMilk, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1$200 is just crappy. So is €140. Why would you spend two days working for that amount of money? It's not the currency that's the problem in your scenario, it's what you were willing to work for.
          • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4hehe this is totally off-topic and a total boast on my behalf, but I just did a conversion of my new wage (just got a new job today :-) and I'm earning $60,000 per annum? That makes me feel awesome.
      • EvilGeniusTodd, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6"The euro is a joke so long Germany does all the hard work, while the rest of the EU sits on their ass and gets a tan, plus the fact that the EU has no credible and unified military to speak of."
        As a Finn I have to say:
        You need to do your homework on who is maintaining the value of the euro. Germany is far from going it alone in that department. I would point out that Finland has been rated as the most compatative econmy in the world 4 out of the last 7 years. That's well ahead of Germany.
      • maffiou, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Exactly...
        The rest of the world is having to live with the ineptude of the current US monetary policy... Things are going to change for that very reason, the current state of the dollar is showing the limitation of the system...
      • tblasko, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Would have been a perfect post for Fresh Prince, I was so intently reading it I would have been blown away
      • Ben1987, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1Dugg for the use of "poop shoot"
      • Syntaxis, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Germany doing all the hard work? Try not throwing in random false statements disguised as facts, next time. As for the EU's military power.. the combined forces are larger than the entire US armed forces. But even with that knowledge... the EU isn't going to attack the USA, I mean.. what the hell are you smoking?

        When (read: not IF) the Dollar falls we're all in deep *****. The thing is, the rest of the world will crawl back because they have relatively stable economy's. We don't rely on US products, we don't necessarily rely on exporting products TO the USA, either. Worst case scenario: we'll be left with a lot of plastic that we can't transform into useless gadgets (iPhone for 700 Dollars?) - a few companies go bankrupt, bread becomes cheaper, people will have to let go of certain luxuries, fast forward 5 years: we're ok, USA is still in deep *****.

        And you'll all blame Ron Paul, Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton even though G.W. Bush caused the mess and is nowhere to be found.
    • ronjohn, on 10/10/2007, -5/+8Where does OJ fit into the big picture?
    • WaterDragon, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4All your children's future earnings are belong to... the DAMN bankers with their SCAM known as the 'Federal Reserve' system, and its FIAT money.
    • stankinaz, on 10/10/2007, -8/+2Silly china man. Your country had it's chance of being the greatest, but your forefathers blew it. If you look at all the greatest civilizations that existed in this world they all had one thing in common - the great civilizations had a diverse society of people with different backgrounds. It is from diverse citizens where great and novel idea stem. What governs people will never be politicians. What governs people are ideas. So the US is in an ecomonical sham, but the US has the mightest military the world has ever seen. In the later part of the 20th century, man has accomplished what was never done before, the seperation of a military power and an economic power. I highly doubt all these countries will fight for their money back from the United States. There will be more to lose than to gain. People in Russia claim that their democracy is great because it is new. People in China are proud because they don't have to vote. I believe that the United States of America was blessed because they had the greatest thinkers who implemented an idea of an established government for the people and by the people - a government which till now exist from a piece of paper and which was written by men who understood the dangers of anarchy and totalarian control. It is from these dangers of the two different extremes that has the ability to destroy the creation of ideas that can better man kind.

      People often laugh at simplicity, but it's the basis of primitive thought which ingnites people's hope and dreams of a better life/future. Was it by chance that the United States was too lucky to have people like tesla, edison, wrights, and bell? These 5 guys forever changed the world by enhancing the way the world lives, and I would like to believe that the United States' ideal and beliefs had a hand in expressing their ideas to realities. There is a reason why the united states offers freedom of religion and freedom of speech. If these guys were in the top 50 of this list mentioned above would their inventions have been created. My answer is "NO."

      As long as hollywood keeps making high budget movies for other people in the world to see, the united states will always be lit in heart of non-americans. However, I find it odd how rap music seems to capture lots of young people's heart in the world - these kids will have a candle lit for america as well.

      In my opinion the United States will be around a long time. The way the United States government was created was not meant to be perfect - nothing usually is in life. The United States government is a perpetual government which is clearly run by all kinds of ideas. Perhaps a president only running for 2 terms isn't that bad of an idea afterall
      • roodammy44, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3The economic/military power separation I'm sure has happened before.
        If you can't pay for your military weapons then your military power will be gone soon
      • allywilson, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"People in China are proud because they don't have to vote." - sorry, had to laugh at that comment!
  • dagnabbit, on 11/09/2007, -15/+240The US is bankrupt. The day will come when all we can pay is the interest on our debts; not education, infrastructure, defense, nothing. It's appalling that our nation's leaders don't even seem to address the issue, much less figure out a way to fix it.
    • Buddhist, on 10/10/2007, -1/+23"Sobering" is probably a light term for being more than $760,000,000,000 in debt than the next closest, Spain. That's not even mentioning that all of our "enemy" countries are much higher on the ladder than us fiscally (China, Russia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, and Venezuela are all in the top 25), which is never a good sign (though not wholly comparable, see Germany post-WW1).
      • stevenb486, on 10/10/2007, -4/+12What do you have against Venezuela :(
        • combatchuck, on 10/10/2007, -0/+10Most conservatives view Chavez as a socialist. That word reminds them too much of hippies and their long hair with the pot smoking and the free thinking.
        • gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The U.S> has a problem with any country that doesn't want to be it bitch.
      • rchargel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Let it be known that debt and surplus are for the year. The reason countries like Brazil (I am a Brazilian so allow me to use this example) have a surplus is because they are under pressure by the World Bank to keep their inflation rates low. This leads to recession in those countries by not providing the services, and financial backing to businesses, necessary to boost the local economy. Brazil, may be in surplus for the year, but we are still paying back massive debts incurred during the US backed dictatorship of the 1960s - 1980s. This does not mean that we have a strong or even stable economy, though I must admit things have gotten "better" by comparison.
    • Future2, on 10/10/2007, -6/+16It's always diggers predicting the collapse of the U.S. economy, the US$, the housing market, or whatever else is in the headlines for the month. Some people on here are so over-the-top that it becomes frustrating to read. Very few economists, if any, are predicting anything remotely similar to what dagnabbit posted.

      Now onto the CA deficit. Don't get me wrong, it's very bad, but the table posted in the wikipedia entry is misleading. It needs to state the deficit as a percentage of the country's GDP. The United States produces more than several of those countries in the red. Also the CA deficit has been improving. From the today's WSJ, "Now it seems likely [the CA deficit] will go down by 1.5 percentage points [over the next twelve months]." If the CA deficit is reduced too quickly it will hurt the U.S. economy more than it will help it.
      • taotehue, on 10/10/2007, -5/+14sure the deficit is improving at rate that will get us out of the hole in 200 years or so. This is amazing since prior to Bush, we had a SURPLUS!!!!!
        • TotalCarb, on 10/10/2007, -6/+4Surplus is not necessarily a good thing for a capitalist government. A huge surplus means the government holds a lot of private securities and can use that to lean on corporations and the private sector in general. The way it functions now is no better as it is an inverse situation with the private sector holding the government under its thumb. Staying in between these two extremes is what we should strive for to sustain equality and help the economy flourish.
          • bacon_skoda, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2it was a surplus if you don't subtract the impending medicare and ss shortfall.
            otherwise, it's a surplus. and we were taught that surpluses are bad by Dr. Bush.
          • gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Owing everybody money can't be a good thing either. Our biggest export seems to be soldiers; just how long do you think the rest of the world will put up with us. Pride cometh before a fall and we had better start thinking about what can go wrong with our economic policy and how that can damage us. All I hear from the neocons are rosey predictions that it will all work out in the end.
        • mmacmu1, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4If you have a surplus then you are probably gaining interest off of another country... like how the Chinese have us by the balls
      • brianjlowry, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGpY2hw7ao8
      • mmacmu1, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9...Hey how bout that guy... oh whats his name... Alan... oh yeah, Alan Greenspan.
        My daddy says he was the guy that prints all the money!
        ANYWAY, he completly criticizes George Bush's spending habit. BTW, in case you have selective memory (which most of your type do), Bill Clinton brought our nation a SURPLUS. Now W has gone and pissed it all away.
        In other news, Haliburton stock is up 600% since 2001. Wish I would of gotten on that boat!
        • gwolf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Perhaps that was the plan all along; Is it easier to control a nation when it's economy has completely collapsed. They make us afraid, we give them more power and control to protect us from all the bad forces in the world that are coming to get us. Your neighbors whom you don't know any more, people of different faiths who all seem to want to kill us, the liberal intellectuals who are obviously in league with them.
          Let a few murderers and rapist out on parole and soon our police budget will get bigger. Destroy the economy and laws will be passed to help them get it under control. Labor laws that abolish trade unions and give employers absolute authority over their employees.
          Virtual unilateral slavery for a population only educated well enough to do as they are told and serve a system that doesn't serve them; welcome to the new world order.
      • rprouse, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The problem with the current system is that it is largely based on perceived value. Back in the late 90's, people perceived stocks in Internet companies were worth more than they really were leading to the bubble. Very few Economists then predicted otherwise. To do so would have undermined people's confidence in the stocks and then would have become a self-fulfillng prophecy.

        It is the same thing now. I believe that if you read between the lines, most economists believe that the state of the US economy is seriously messed up, but they know that if they word it that way it will cause a quick crash in the economy as the stock market tanks. Instead, they quietly work together behind the scenes to effect change. Hopefully they can pull it off.
      • chillmandan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The problem is the number of Digg users who have ever taken a Macroeconomics course is probably about 10.
    • kutza, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Too bad that's just our massive trade deficit (the high amount is simply indicative of our massive buying power).
    • jimbohawkins, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6The current account deficit does not cost us anything directly. There is no interest payment to be made here. The main thing that this shows is that other countries are buying our debt - those other countries are the one's with positive current accounts. While I would agree that a positive current account balance is better than a negative one, this is not the end of the world...
      • captainkeene, on 10/10/2007, -2/+1"buying our debt"...but until when?
        • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Buying debt is a financial tool to control currency rates. China, for example, pegs their yuan to a basket of foreign currencies, which is dominated by the dollar and the Euro. In order to control the exchange rate they need to buy US Government Bonds (Debt) in order to keep the rate of inflation down and maintain the peg they have previously set. So don't think of buying debt as simply getting loans from other countries because it has more diverse uses than that.

          Article going more in detail to the process:

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_market_operation


      • InfiniteNothing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2No interest payed on bonds? The interest on the debt is one of the highest line items in the budget
    • Kugellehr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+28Clinton brought it back up from the damn republican spending. Then here came bush and his 200billion dollar a month iraq war. Woops we're back in the *****.

      freakin republican idiots. All patriotism and greed and no brains.
      • pukufek, on 10/10/2007, -6/+3OMGZ BUT CLINTON SUCKED OFF LEWINSKI !!!

        ***** Republicans all need to be shot.
      • jhshukla, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Patriotism != mindless "courage". It does demand all you can give up but you've got to ensure max benefits.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2I wonder where all those "Experts" who we saw preaching the economics of outsourcing, and getting the cheapest goods no matter where they are made are going to go once the crap hits the fan?

      You know, when you or I would say; "How can you not pay for things and how is it good to import more than you export?" And they would shake their sage heads, and tell us "it's complicated, don't worry your pretty little head."
    • arobicha, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0US Pay for it's debt? HA! China's been buying that crap for a while now. It would be a good idea to start begging soon though. Incentive is getting worse and worse to keep funding you guys.
      • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2China buys debt in the form of treasury bonds to keep its currency stable, it has nothing to do with "funding" us and everything to do with controlling inflation. Dumbass
    • RockinRoel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4The money isn't gone, the government stole it. Just ask the corrupt politicians to give the money back.
    • ut2k4king, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The problem is, it's much more convenient for their presidential races for them not to even MENTION this so that people won't get worried. First we have to get the candidates to really acknowledge that this is a more pressing matter than "terrorism" in Iraq.
    • chillmandan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The deficit is only a problem if we don't use the money we owe on productive assets. So really, all we have to do is stop spending our deficit on paying for Social Security and other non productive resources. Oh and really, the deficit is not that bad, we've had deficits that were larger than our National GDP back in the 1950's.
  • socialpyramid, on 11/09/2007, -3/+88Uncle Sam needs to shred up his credit cards now. Or freeze them in a giant ice cube. Seriously.
    • jmpeagle, on 10/10/2007, -2/+16this is the result of consumers, not the government. Americans are buying more goods than they produce (approximately 6% more)
      • taotehue, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7government policy determines which goods are readily available. Consumers only react to those policies.
        • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1"government policy determines which goods are readily available."
          um... no. In a free market economy it's the market that determines what goods are readily available. Government has the ability to limit this and control it to an extent, but if you take that logic too far you end up very close to a command economy.
        • RockinRoel, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1The American government should make the market less free. The "free market" is in hands of the super rich. Give it back to the people!
    • wmarkusen, on 10/10/2007, -1/+19Well, the ice cubes are melting so I guess we're all screwed.
    • brad3378, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2or as Gore would say - put them in a giant lock box
  • mojaam, on 10/10/2007, -30/+9While I hate diggin wiki articles, this does shed some light on the state of world. It's too bad a lot of the countries in surplus are corrupt and not the best places to live.
    • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -5/+7Man yeah I heard Japan is a TERRIBLE place to live. In fairness, China and Russia are pretty corrupt. It's interesting to note that some of those small European countries with the most economic freedoms. The U.S., of course, being an anomaly of having economic freedom and yet still managing to be ridiculously in debt.
    • wmarkusen, on 10/10/2007, -2/+15As if America isn't riddled with corruption?
      • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -4/+4When it's legal it's not considered corruption.
  • jdh24, on 10/10/2007, -47/+40Vote Ron Paul - the only candidate serious about reducing the debt.
    • xoxojustin, on 10/10/2007, -19/+3And your freedom.
      • itsthebrod, on 10/10/2007, -0/+12While I hate the Ron Paul spam in completely unrelated articles, surely you've got to be ***** kidding me in thinking that Ron Paul wants to *reduce* freedom...
        • TenebrousX, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think he meant "serious about your freedom"
    • jimbohawkins, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4The president has very little to do with the current account balance. This is something that is largely dictated by the supply and demand of various currencies and the largest driver of that is interest rates. Let's not confuse Econ 101 with I hate you and your politics 101...
    • volonix, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Would you all shut the ***** up about Ron Paul? It's the most dire thing to read when you aren't even a US Citizen.
  • Shigglyboo, on 10/10/2007, -20/+69according to conservative talk radio and the TV we're one of the richest countries on the planet with the best health care in the world.
    this list says we're the most poor nation in the world.
    I guess conquering the world might be in our best interest...
    • wmarkusen, on 10/10/2007, -10/+6You scare me.
      • meatloafsurpriz, on 10/10/2007, -4/+10If you don't get the sarcasm in his comment, you scare me more
    • sparrowkc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11...I think I understand everything now...
    • EarlOfLade, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Well, looking at Norway, you need to take into account The Government Pension Fund of Norway, which currently has a value of US$317 billion. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Petroleum_Fund_of ...

      But USA, yeah... it's not #1 in much any longer...
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -1/+5The best way I've learned to DECODE what is going on, is to look at all the "Conservative" groups as merely Corporate -- either an actual elite, or a water carrier.
      The "Liberal groups" -- not necessarily their leaders, are still fighting for the Citizen.
      Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boorts -- all shills for the same team. A group of people who will suddenly find resorts outside the company to enjoy their retirement.
    • 4rch, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I like your ideas and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.
    • festeve, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0US has the most EXPENSIVE Health care, far from being the most efficient nor the best; on top it is not accessible to close than 20% of the population. In Switzerland, Norway, Sweden... you have better Health Care..for everyone. I though that was one of the criticisms of Americans versus European, why do we pay so much taxes for having an Universal Health Care...
  • chmeee, on 10/10/2007, -18/+12Gee, I wonder what reasons Communist China could possibly have for buying up so much of our currency?
    • zombies187, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2See, it's dumb moves like buying up cheap America, that prove communism doesn't work.
      • mrmiggidude, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I guess there's a lot of money in bootlegging American movies/cds/products. Keep up the replication, China.
    • bbjustin, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4China is using the US dollar to against the US when or if US try any funny business against China in the future, then China can dump the US dollar and it will collapse the US economy. Current Chinese Gov. still remember what happen to them 100 years ago. You might not understand because World History in US doesn't bring up the ugly things about its country.
      • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1Obviously you've never learned grammar, or economics, because what you just said made no sense.
  • homerj14, on 10/10/2007, -5/+62consdidering China has units dedicating to hacking im not suprised.

    /red Alert 2 :)
    • GasAddict, on 10/10/2007, -1/+13I thought that was C&C Generals :)
    • AntBing, on 10/10/2007, -0/+16If you dont think we have units dedicated to hacking you are sorely mistaken.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6Everyone has units dedicated to hacking.
      Hint; We also have lots of nukes.
    • Bamborzled, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Almost buried for confusing RA2 with Generals. If people fought the same way they did in Generals China would have really powerful, large, nuclear tanks that spew propaganda to their troops and tons of disposable tanks with machine-guns mounted on them. Actually I think they do have those, or at least they're in development. Never underestimate the Chinese.
    • RockinRoel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4The GLA is better, they can ghetto-pimp their rides with parts that fall off the opponent. Hyper-pimped elite quad cannons can destroy anything.
      • DoobieWheel, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2They also have snipers that kill the pilots of tanks that have 3 inch thick armour plating. And Angry Mobs. Angry Mobs destroy all
  • Daedalus17, on 10/10/2007, -53/+78Umm do any of you realize this doesn't mean anything? What matters is your ratio of debt to what you are able to pay not the total amount of debt. Here is an easy way to think about it: Imagine if someone working at McDonalds is making $7.00 an hour has $300 in the bank? Can you say this person is in better financial shape then a computer software programmer who makes $40 an hour but has $400 on his credit card? Looking at the total amount of debt tells you nothing. China is like the guy working at McDonalds and the U.S. is like the computer programmer. Hope this clears things up for the economically challenged.
    • dynamitehacker, on 10/10/2007, -12/+11When the US is 9 times worse than the second last country on the list, then it definitely is a problem.
      • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The US Economy also produced 11.84x as much as the second to last country on the list. US GDP for 2006 was $13.13 Trillion, that should put things into a more realistic perspective. A huge CA deficit is not a good thing but people need to get a better grip on what these numbers actually mean.
        • insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -3/+1It means bush cut taxes and spent money like crazy. Lowering ones income and increasing spending is definitely not a responsible way of running government.
        • phantom20x, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Actually Bush hasn't cut taxes very much, hes been pretty liberal about that!
    • vault, on 10/10/2007, -10/+46Stop interrupting the pity party with your logic and reason. To this questionably sane soap-opera loving crowd, the US is a third world country on a downward spiral into fascism. They use their computers that capitalism made possible to complain on the internet that capitalism made possible about how much capitalism sucks.
      • teh_techie, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4woo... that was a doozy to read. thanks for that!
      • Cockslap, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1That made me el oh el a little.... its just the typical dooms day crowd heralding the end of days once again.
      • Tilon, on 10/10/2007, -10/+2Because bad things NEVER happen.

        Read a history book recently, moron?
    • wmarkusen, on 10/25/2007, -2/+19I think we all understood your obvious point before you even stated it. You fail to address the fact that as the VALUE of our dollar plummets, the ability to pay off our debt hardens. Also, as profitable American companies continue to be bought up by foreign companies and governments, our ability to pay off the debt hardens. There are many other factors contributing to this downward spiral but I'm too depressed to mention those right now. I'm looking for an opportunity to relocate to Germany. I was before I even saw this Wiki article. Life is going to worsen in the US over the next decade at least.
      • KMye, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Umm...as the relative value of dollar decreases, which we had all better be hoping it does if we want to be able to pay for Social Security and Medicare in a few years, our foreign debts held in dollars become easier to pay off. But I agree, it's not a bad time to take a long vacation, more because somehow Giuliani is the leading candidate for one of our major parties and a majority of our country doesn't seem alarmed we're turning our intelligence assets inwards on ourselves than our financial situation.
      • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/25/2007, -2/+3And, when China buys our toll roads, and Dubai our weapons manufacturers -- guess who gets the profits when we export war?
        The new leveraged buy-out technique, manages to get the company that is being bought, to pay off as a debt for the money required to puchase it -- what is left is a smoking pile of debt and layoffs.
        And THOSE are some of the companies you think have VALUE in them. Our country has been getting hollowed out my friend.
        • DrawingTheSun, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The last thing the American government will hold onto will be its war companies and it won't let them go until there nothing left
    • taotehue, on 10/25/2007, -2/+18actually i would say that china is the guy behind the bank counter and the U.S. is the guy taking out the loan. Puts a little bit better perspective on you analogy there.
      • bacon_skoda, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2in 10 years, we will all be working for china.
        • Kindjal, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2You already do, you work to pay for the products you consume and they produce. You pay your government taxes to wage war and distribute it amongst the rich.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/25/2007, -9/+1Please, chisel Daedalus17's words in stone.
      So he can come back to them in 20 years and wonder how he could have been so stupid. It's part of the growing process.
      I'm actually going to digg him up -- so that more people can read what it looks like when someone has their head up their ass so far they see a silver lining, and it has teeth.
      • lime148, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I was going to digg you up for that very same reason, but in the end I decided you just weren't worth it.
    • cooties, on 10/25/2007, -6/+6How about every American is born with $29,000 of debt thanks to the national debt? The only good thing about that is it's USD which will be worth as much as a ruble in a few years.
    • nezroy, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10So, what happens when the computer programmer loses his job with his negative savings?
      • deuceswilde, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Get a new job...
        This isn't sarcastic, in what kind of asinine society is this taking place, one where everyone gets one chance to succeed in life? Also, that comparison has no realistic parallel to the situation with the current account balance so your point is a lot of panic and little substance.
    • twistee, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I wouldn't really say China is like a McDonald's worker... they aren't exactly small when it comes to money (although not as big as the U.S.)

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_ ...
    • thailand1972, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Problem is in reality, subprime mortgages have millions of defaulters (i.e. millions of these savvy computer programmers who can't afford to pay for their house with their $40 an hour job).

      If only the west was full of people on $40 an hour jobs. This ain't the case. I know you just made an analogy, but it's kind of disingenuous - assuming people can afford to pay back their debts. Millions in the west can't. Two words : credit crunch.
    • rprouse, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9I think that your analogy is a bit flawed. It is a bit more like the McDonald's worker has a few years salary saved up for retirement and no debt while the computer programmer has a second mortgage on their over priced house and is barely making ends meet trying to pay off her debts and still live the life she is accustomed to.
      • ChayD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I think that was the most accurate analogy. Dugg.
  • coffee200am, on 10/10/2007, -8/+60If the US doesn't pay off it's debts...the rest of the world is screwed...
    • brjndr, on 10/10/2007, -2/+28If you owe the bank a million dollars, the bank owns you.

      If you owe the bank a trillion dollars, you own the bank.
      • Urusai, on 10/10/2007, -4/+14Exactly, we own the world. Thanks, suckers, for lending us all this phat lewts, the check's in the mail.
    • KMye, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3The world, especially China, is completely unable to call in all of its debts. It would be to their detriment, and we'd just give everyone the finger and default, anyway.
    • shadowmoose, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2The US has never forfeited a debt, I hope they don't start now.
    • genza, on 10/10/2007, -4/+1"If the US doesn't pay off [it is] debts..."
      Its is the possessive pronoun; it modifies a noun. It's is a contraction of it is or it has.
  • Error601, on 10/10/2007, -5/+40Why did I know there would be a bunch of retards that don't know what account balance means yet feel compelled to comment and show their ignorance? If you think it's related to the national debt, you're one of the clueless.
    • KMye, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4There are also some different schools of thought as to how bad a negative trade balance is.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -2/+9Please, explain how 1/3rd of the GDP going to servicing debt, and 1/2 of our tax revenue going to military activities (includes veterans benefits) is a good model for a sustainable economy.
      Sounds a lot like ancient Rome, where as soon as you run out of lands to plunder -- your unsustainable lifestyle comes crashing down.
      • KMye, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2why is this comment under this topic?
      • tehxen3, on 10/10/2007, -0/+21 /3rd of the GDP doesnt go to servicing debt... It's actually 7-10% of government budget....
  • Albionshores, on 10/10/2007, -5/+74Only America isn't the one earning $40 an hour. American business is - and American business ceases to be American when it incorporates itself overseas - like Halliburton did. And American business ceases to be American when overseas companies buy them up lock, stock and barrel. Like the Chinese state investment fund has been set up to do.

    http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5i2OcTnAaxj4DBh ...

    In addition; if America owes that money, which it does, and has sold that debt, which it has, and the dollar continues to collapse, which it is - then there is a very good reason for people to begin ditching US reserves as the dollar descends even further compared to other more competitive currencies like the Euro. Elsewhere in news today......the Canadian Loonie overtook the dollar. And if one way of ditching that currency is to exchange them for resource, commodities and stock options there will be nothing left on American shelves and no American business still American doing business. In analogical terms the computer programmer on $40/hour is an independent contractor and his contract is up for renewal. If the next job takes him overseas America will be left with the world's greatest debt and only a $7 wage to pay it.

    That's why the list is appropriate.

    Before joining a 'North American Union' Canada consider if you, at number 15 and in the black, really want to sidle up to your poorer red-dipped, debt-riddled cousin in the south and at the bottom of the list.
    • jumbalia, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2As a student who studied economics last year at a Canadian university. (UBC to be exact) I happen to know (as well as many other Canadians I'm sure) that Canada is not in the black. The Canadian defecit is i believe around $500 million.
      • itsthebrod, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2This would be the prime place for a joke that goes something along the lines of... "And the blacks aren't in Canada either!"

        But I'm sure I'd get buried for such a thing.
      • barc0001, on 10/10/2007, -0/+14Er, no. We have a DEBT, but not a deficit. The debt is money we owe overall. The deficit, which is what this list means by "current account balance" is the amount that each country is overspending (or not) THIS year based on their budget. We have a budget surplus this year, like we've had for many years, and each year we put several billion dollars towards paying it down. A comparison of Canada and the US in this behavior:
        In the US, they have a debt of 9 TRILLION dollars. This year they are 800 billion over budget(deficit) and climbing, so by this time next year, excluding interest, they will have a 9.8 trillion dollar debt.
        In Canada, we have a debt around 600 billion dollars, but we service all of the interest on that, and on top of that, we've paid an average of 5 billion/year of it off over the last 10 years.
        So to put that in perspective, the US has just added more debt to itself this year alone than Canada has rung up in its entire existance.
        • autodrv, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Where did you get this figure of an $800 billion budget deficit? I'm pretty sure the latest US federal budget deficit was around $300 billion. This list shows current account balances, which is a comparison of exports and imports of goods and services (and also incomes paid overseas, etc). Hence, China has a large current account surplus because it exports a lot, and the US has a large current account deficit because it imports a lot. Current account balance has nothing to do with the outcome of the federal budget (well, the budget will affect the current account). I think you are getting a little confused between the current account and the budget...
    • cikcanada, on 10/10/2007, -5/+4I for one really hope we never have a North American Union. In fact, I'd very much hope we divorce ourselves from the US even more than we have. There is no need for a union.

      In the first place, we have different goals. I have political parties (from the right to the left) actually fighting about healthcare with the context of KEEPING HEALTHCARE PUBLIC. Wow! I have parties arguing about what public education entails. Hell, I have parties, as in four major parties, each who get a reasonable percentage of the vote.

      The idea of increasing my democratic deficit by joining the US makes me shudder. It's already bad enough that there are only two feasible choices in America: Democrat or Republican. At least here I can start a party myself without the others suing to keep me off the ballot. Sobering eh?
    • MatttK, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5I don't think there would be any support in either country for a North American Union. Americans wouldn't support it because they'd somehow think Canada would gain power over their country, while Canadians wouldn't support it because they'd rightly know America would completely run Canada even moreso than they do now. Check NAFTA for an example of how a North American Union would turn out (Softwood lumber anyone?).
  • polymath22, on 10/10/2007, -4/+27i prefer this visual aid. really puts it in a better perspective. This really puts a strain our "richest nation on the planet" claim.
    yeah we are 'rich' all right; rich like the rapper in the video with the mink coat, the gold rope, the mansion on the island and the italian sports car...
    all hat, no cattle
    http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_cur_acc_bal- ...
  • polymath22, on 10/10/2007, -15/+8America is "all hat, no cattle", kind like the rapper in the video with the mink coat, the gold rope, the mansion on the island, the yacht, the italian sports car
    this graph gives a bit of a different, and scarier, perspective
    http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_cur_acc_bal- ...
  • Pingspike, on 10/10/2007, -0/+11Interesting. Didn't expect the UK to be all the way down there.
    • mrboratsagdiev, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2It's what happens when the government promises its citizens everything on a silver platter.
      • santa7, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3What about Sweden?
      • Christbait, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1It's also what happens when lazy lager louts and druggies insist on doling off the government and tax payer's money instead of being real men and working for what they earn.

        And building for the 2012 olympics is going to completely be the icing on the cake, along with other factors, in killing our treasury.
    • pukufek, on 10/10/2007, -2/+6Thats ok because here in the UK we have an amazing free health care system, you turn up to hospital, wait in a corridor for about 12 hours and then catch MRSA.

      London also has an amazing public transport system - for a small fortune you can squash yourself between two people in an underground train while private contractors ***** up the safety systems. Or alternatively you can hop on a bus that, thanks to our mayor comes promptly every few minutes, but, again thanks to our mayor, moves about 3 meters through traffic every few minutes.

      If thats not enough, behold our wonderful military, thats right, the UK has the strongest military in the world, we actually have about 500 soldiers guarding the entire country at the moment, the rest are getting killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They're the most well equipped soldiers in the world too - we have boots, we've got socks, hats, you name it. Although occasionally we have to borrow guns and ammunition from the Yanks because we foolishly bought 30,000 very ***** assault rifles that fall apart in sand.

      So thats it, yeah, come to the UK guys, we're doing well here. We have over 300 Starbucks in London alone, one day I hope to walk down a London street and see only Starbucks, McDonalds and Gap, oh wait, thats already a reality!
      • mailthev, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0a very "accurate" description of life in the UK for sure... "rolls eyes"
      • Darrelc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1That was very well written :)

        If course you can always drive into london and pay what is it, 9£ a day congestion charge?
      • Darrelc, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1FFS, ***** digg, I didn't even click submit twice!
      • ChayD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2"for a small fortune you can squash yourself between two people in an underground train while private contractors ***** up the safety systems."....and then go bust, while still managing to pay the incompetent directors a generous severance package.

        Well put and very accurate. I'm just glad I don't live in London (I only work there)
    • jferrari, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1We're richer than Spain!
    • gothicform, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Thats because this is looking at visible accounts... that is clear trade levels. It is not looking at other things, like for example the amount of money your companies make abroad that is returned to your country as profit so the UKs income from holdings abroad which in 2003 was greater than the total economic production of Turkey is not counted in those figures. The UK has a higher gross national product than gross domestic product because of this and runs a rather huge invisible trade surplus.
  • empirefalling, on 10/10/2007, -15/+6The US is truly in decline. While this is very good news for the World Body...it spells disaster for the American peoples. From it's hopeful beginnings, it's fight against slavery, it's small role in fighting fascism in the 1940's, it's negligible attempt to reach the moon in the 60's, It's defeats in Vietnam and The Middle East and now it's economic collapse, the peoples that will survive must be helped.
  • noripcord7, on 10/10/2007, -13/+5Anyone else notice that the numbers don't add up to zero? Where did that $64,971.47 million go?
    • Kles, on 10/10/2007, -2/+19This might be the dumbest comment I've ever read. Sorry if that's condescending, but seriously. Think about what you just typed.
    • supermajic, on 10/10/2007, -3/+10Wow, you actually went to the effort of calculating those numbers - having no idea what they even mean? And yes, that is about the dumbest comment I've ever read.
      • supermajic, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3well, overreacted a little bit there. op probably does no what they are.. and i've seen far worse comments.
      • teh_techie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6Well, all you gotta do is paste that column into excel and autosum! Not very hard.
        • f8tbrautmehere, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Anyone dumb enough to think those numbers should balance at zero, would not "know"* how to cut and paste them in Excel, and use AutoSum.

          *It's KNOW not NO supermajic.
    • zobs, on 10/10/2007, -3/+3wow, comment like this this is almost exactly why USA is heading where it is heading to....keep it up man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
    • noripcord7, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4First of all: copy, paste, sum. It really took like 20 seconds.
      Second: instead of going off like it's the stupidest concept in the world that the net "Balance of Payments" in the world economy should be balanced and sum to zero, please just take a minute to civilly explain what is clearly obvious to you and not me. Any of you. I honestly want to know.
      • supermajic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Hey I just felt like starting an argument and being a *****, agreeing with that guy who commented above me. Btw, there are more than 163 countries on earth - and many of the estimates are from different years + these are only estimates anyway, they're not going to be exact. Some countries wouldn't record half the ***** they import and export anyway. Also, after rereading these comments I think you're one of the only people that actually does know what they mean. Wd. Gg. Hm, reading these comments more me thinks that everyone else thinks current account balance = debt.
      • nastajus, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1it's complicated to me too, i don't understand what how GDP works despite reading it a bunch of times. however I do have an idea it is not supposed to add up to zero. i can't really explain why, but I would like to show you the film "MONEY IS DEBT". It's easily found at the top of google search, it's extremely informative and is related. I understand the first half, it's very well done.
    • RedPhalanx, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Ownership by individuals. At least, I think so.
  • dillibob, on 10/10/2007, -7/+41wow, ***** nigeria has more cash than us
    • iVision, on 10/10/2007, -1/+19They have a lot of oil, and love to scam dumb Americans.
    • prattmic, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Thats cause they have all the spammers
    • itsthebrod, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4Perhaps that's true, but now examine both countries' quality of life, technical advancement, etc. and I'm sure you'll see why this list means absolutely ***** nothing.
    • wmarkusen, on 10/10/2007, -0/+17Umm, take another look at the list. We're at the bottom. ALL countries (including Nigeria) have more cash than us.
      • buggles, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Then I'll take the 3 story house, at the bottom of the list, over the cardboard box and no job, several list slots up.
  • Rikushix, on 10/10/2007, -4/+16I expected the US to be pretty deep in the red, but not at the very bottom.
    • nebion, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0To be fair, the US is also in the top 5 in terms of population; it might look a bit different if this were per capita, although the US might still be at (or near) the bottom.

      Oh well, I'm happy that my country is in the positive, albeit not by much.
    • dictum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've got no formal education in this matter, and my interest in global economy is truncated after a few general articles here and there, and I was not surprised at all where the US would be on such a list.
    • dictum, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I've got no formal education in this matter, and my interest in global economy is truncated after a few general articles here and there, and I was not surprised at all where the US would be on such a list.
  • h4ppymac, on 10/10/2007, -4/+31Who would've know a third world country was richer than the US, wait all the third world countries are...
  • mastersquirrel3, on 10/10/2007, -8/+3Swaziland is on there twice.
    • dynamitehacker, on 10/10/2007, -0/+5Err, no, only once in 69th. And the article hasn't been edited since you posted that either.
  • wittyname, on 10/10/2007, -4/+22And we think we rule the world.
  • galeninjapan, on 10/10/2007, -13/+6# 1 USA, USA, USA, USA, USA...
  • amunimanghi, on 10/10/2007, -1/+66My first instinct was to scroll down to the bottom of the list to see if the U.S. was there...
    • Kugellehr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6...sadly me too.
    • Nutt3rz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Ditto, although I also expected Australia and the UK...
      :(
  • centran, on 10/10/2007, -1/+17When I clicked that link I immediately thought... well I will just scroll to the bottom to find the US. Even though I knew where to look I was still very shocked.
    • kaskoosek, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1These figures are inaccurate. They should be CA/GDP.
      If this is the case then my country beats the US and it become first. Hurray.(Lebanon)
      In our case the deficit is countered by remittances.
  • Ebacherville, on 10/10/2007, -1/+6***** it looks like the USA owes more than all the others on the list that have debt.. This cant be related to the current state of the dollar in any way ? :)
  • murty, on 10/10/2007, -0/+50WOW! Australia is forth to bottom, how...? All we do is have barbecues and scratch our arses...
    • teh_techie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8Gotta pay for that somehow!
    • DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+24CRIKEY dingoes got our money!
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -5/+2You're country has been run by a Globalist NeoCon for a few years now. All these globalists are working to make people indentured servants to the Wealthy Elite.
      You don't have to believe me -- but it's under way. Look at Mexico -- a very wealthy nation and a Globalists wet dream. Did you know they outsource to China too?
      • chaparyan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Did you just call Mexico a very wealthy nation?
  • mrboratsagdiev, on 10/10/2007, -8/+21And so many people want universal healthcare? Good luck paying for that.
    Besides, would you trust your life to a group that's $800B in debt with inept management? Yeah, mull that little fact over for a moment.
    Where's that money going to come from, after all? The sky? A genie? The spirit of Doug Henning?
    • EPH99, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4People digging your comment down should have to explain why they disagree. Universal health care is unworkable for many reasons, especially this one and you're right about endowing our government with more responsibility when the biggest one of all has been ignored by them to the point of unbelievability.
    • teh_techie, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1What do you mean good luck paying for that, it would come out of your pocket anyways. TAXES. It doesn't just show up out of nowhere! Ask any country that has it already.
    • DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -0/+6actually if you stop invading other countries and and so on, health care is much cheaper than that.
    • spargett, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4All those taxes are being spent on something much more important. Saving all those poor Muslim souls in the Middle East.
    • f8tbrautmehere, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Well maybe if we didn't spend SO MUCH ***** MONEY fighting a war that didn't need to be fought, we could put some good efforts!!!!!!! < extra exclamation points for dramatic effect.


    • insomniac8400, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3This data proves it doesn't matter if we can pay for universal health care. Clearly we aren't paying for a lot of things we do.
    • smookyfufu, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You trust the government with:

      1) Law enforcement
      2) War
      3) Taxes
      4) Maintanence

      Why not healthcare? You think a corporation is better?

      Before you say you don't trust the government with the above, here's how I know you do:

      You let them.
    • Grummond, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Universal Healthcare doesn't mean you have to pay more for healthcare, it costs (all else being equal), the same, it's just a different way of paying for it. A socially fair one.
      If anything, UH means you get more healthcare for the same money, since you're cutting out the middle man (insurance companies).
      We have UH, and we tend to think of it like this: We can't afford NOT to have UH, since we need everyone to be healthy and working, for the economy to stay healthy too. And yes, we have a healthy economy (booming actually).
      No economy can afford businesses going bankrupt because the owner can't afford his medical bills.
  • NikoKun, on 10/10/2007, -2/+14Good god... we're last? LOL
    And in last place: United States -862,300

    Boy we're screwed...
  • ImperfectFreak, on 10/10/2007, -19/+7This really doesn't mean anything.
  • wmarkusen, on 10/10/2007, -15/+2Eh, a little debt never hurt anyone.
  • happytedium, on 10/10/2007, -0/+18Just look at how crazy that gap is. Spain at -98 billion, then the US at -862 billion. ***** insane.
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Current Account Balance is NOT the entire amount of money that America owes -- it's a small fraction of it.

      As others have pointed out above, this is of interest;
      http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_cur_acc_bal- ...

      When you add it all up, the entire world is in a net deficit; so -$61,937,466,000.00 must represent what has been squirreled away in offshore accounts.
    • alife, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4You can't compare Spain and America so easily. Spain has a population of 45 Millions but America has 300 Millions:
      Spain 98/45 = 2,1
      America 862/300=2,87
      So America owes more per habitant, but no so much more. UK is in better shape: 57/60 = 0,95
  • ZenMojo, on 10/10/2007, -7/+2I'm poor, whore!
  • PlixiK, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4alright! go America!
  • jessehadden, on 10/10/2007, -13/+10Hmm... world's largest army, world's most sophisticated killing machines, largest cache of WMDs, world-wide system of WMD delivery... a huuuuuuge credit problem... and a tendency to honk off anyone who doesn't do what we say... yeah, this is gonna end well.
    • TJATL, on 10/10/2007, -1/+10The US does not have the largest army, not to mention Russia has a one step lead on biggest non nuclear bomb, others have plenty of WMDs to do significant damage to Earth, and ICBMs....***** it you are just stupid.
      • ManIs5, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Certainly others have comparable or more advanced individual weapons systems. But the US SPENDS more money on defense than all other countries combined. We just don't get a very good value for our money.
    • ChayD, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Sounds like the character Nicky Santoro in the movie 'Casino':
      (excerpt from the script):
      "Yeah, he had a fool-proof scheme, all right. It wasn't very scientific but it worked. When he won, he collected. When he lost, he told the bookies to go ***** themselves. What were they gonna do? Muscle Nicky? (Chuckles.) Nicky was the muscle."
  • jmpeagle, on 10/10/2007, -4/+23sigh, this is a huge problem but judging by the comments here, no one here actually knows what it means
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -3/+4Enlighten us.
      • brad3378, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1don't feed the egos - maybe he'll go away
      • xtraa, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1We need something new. The world needs sth new. Like maybe a bit more of John Maynard Keynes economics.
      • crypt, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4I'm not an expert myself (far from it), but many ppl seem to think it's the dept which is shown here, it's not.
        Germany for example is 3. on the list but still has approx. 1500 billion in depts, so it's not as rich as you might think.
  • davidk2, on 10/10/2007, -8/+6How do you think Bush pays for his weed and hookers?
  • EuphopiaB, on 10/10/2007, -1/+8We are like the fiscal black hole on the planet. So if I did the math right, every man, woman and child in America would have to give almost $2,900 for us to get back to zero.
    That's just pitiful.
    • devo6273, on 10/10/2007, -0/+9The really sad part is I would be more than happy to pay that amount in more taxes over a year if it was guaranteed to pay that off. But of course it would never be spent on something that silly.
      • kpezzy, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2The Debt of the USA is $ 9 , 0 0 8 , 2 1 5 , 4 4 7 , 7 8 3 . 7 4 yes thats 9 TRILLION

        The estimated population of the United States is 303,041,137
        so each citizen's share of this debt is $29,726.05.
        • dopplerdog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2It's much worse than that, there's not enough spaces there.
        • chaparyan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1I pay more than that in taxes each year, where's my receipt for paying off my portion?
      • xtraa, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4That was three hours ago. Now its plus another 20 million.
    • nastajus, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1What would be done once you're at zero? The whole of society is so deeply based on credit system I think that would just be a blip and would return immediately to an state of everybody averagely owing some numbers.
  • KanosWRX, on 10/10/2007, -9/+3If we can't pay our debt who is going to collect? I would like to see some of those countries try. China would be the only contender but then they would go into debt because no one would buy their products :)
    • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3You think our Military Industrial Complex works for this country?
      No, the only VALUE we have right now, is to defend the interests of the Globalists. Why else do you think we are in Afghanistan and Iraq?
    • Dajestar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1The countries that America owes money to would stop buying American goods. Without the money provided by these countries, the US would not be able to buy even the most basic goods they have outsourced production to..... Prices would rise, borrowing money would become more and more expensive, value of currency would plummet.

      By the way, not only America buys products from China, so does the rest of the world. Guess which would be the more like-able country if the US says screw you to the debt collectors.....
    • whereisian, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Everyone would dump their American currency. Hyperinflation would ensue. Check out what's happening in Zimbabwe.
  • subterfuge, on 10/10/2007, -3/+12even venezuela, a socialist country, has a positive account balance. santa mierda!
    • mmmiiikkkeee, on 10/10/2007, -3/+8when you give the people very little... and you have alot of oil..... i would expect them to have cash....
      • Cayfox, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Given the people very little? Lately, Venezuela has been trading a bunch of that oil wealth to procure doctors for some of its poorest citizens. Call Chavez a greedy dictator if you will, but you can't ignore the unprecedented growth in communal power in Venezuela since he assumed power.

        For that matter, when's the last time the US provided free healthcare to 2 million of its citizens (or even provided it at cost, for that matter), instead of pissing away the wealth of the nation on illegal foreign wars?
  • gllopc, on 10/10/2007, -10/+16Sure fire topic #32 to get your article dugg: Anything which implies that the United States sucks.
    • onewingedangel9, on 10/10/2007, -1/+7Pointing out weaknesses is a way to identify and address them in the goal of fixing them and ultimately becoming stronger.
      • gllopc, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2Very true - and keep that in mind the next time someone points out your weaknesses in front of your peers.
      • VitriolAndAngst, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2Is big strong America going to cry? Or is that just the people who think just SAYING you are great, does anything to achieve it.
    • Dajestar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2My heart bleeds......
  • Thundercracker, on 10/10/2007, -14/+6... yeah we are at the bottom of the list because we are constantly bailing out you other dumb ass countries..
    • Dajestar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Such as? They must not be so dumb after all if they are way above you in this list ;-)
  • agilesloth, on 10/10/2007, -2/+4I love the source on this, that being the CIA World Fact Book. Why is it that whenever I see it saying something positive about the US, people always write it off as a bad source? I mean if you are really glad to see these kind of numbers that support your thoughts on the decline of the US, at least stay consistent when people bring up positive facts from the book.
    • SuperMoses, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Please provide an example of when the CIA world factbook had a statistic that was positive toward the digg community wrote it off as a bad source.
      • agilesloth, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3While I can't quite track down specific posts, I seem to remember a person citing the factbook to prove that the US's literacy was at 99% when somebody posted that 20% of americans can't read. This person was then violently dugg down with responses that called into question the validity of the factbook. Other posts I remember are when people would cite the factbook where it says things like: "The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $43,500" in order to argue that the US economy isn't in the dumps as much as it appears to be. Again, people would question how credible the factbook is because it has the letters CIA attached to it. There are many other instances where I remember people trying to use the CIA factbook in the US's defense only to be shot down, but those two are the ones that stick out. I'm glad this article made the front page though so that I now know people will accept the factbook as credible information.
        • SuperMoses, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Then I digg your post because while the CIA was involved in many brutal acts, it is precisely due to the CIA released documents that we can confirm there brutal behaviour.
  • myFriendDerrik, on 10/10/2007, -1/+20Hey Japan, could I like, borrow a couple bucks? I'll totally pay you back. Thanks.
    • dopplerdog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Like, that's what got the US in this trouble in the first place.
  • EPH99, on 10/10/2007, -6/+4So, who's moving with me to Brazil?
    • harajukukei, on 10/10/2007, -1/+0I'm moving to japan.
    • Rxbrent, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2Don't let the door hit you on the way out. Take all your anti-american diggers with you.
    • marcgil, on 10/10/2007, -0/+0Uncle Sam will prevail! Hail the Marine Corps! whoooo-waaah!
  • petebert, on 10/10/2007, -4/+14its cool, I learned in elementary that we only print money for the amount of gold we have it Fort Knox. right?
    • DeFex, on 10/10/2007, -2/+19the gold is probably gone. replaced by gold painted chinese lead.Dick probably has it.
    • RickScarf, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3It used to be that way, many years ago, with gold and silver certificates. Now there is no gold backing, just our faith in the government.
      "Federal Reserve notes are not redeemable in gold, silver or any other commodity, and receive no backing by anything This has been the case since 1933. The notes have no value for themselves, but for what they will buy. In another sense, because they are legal tender, Federal Reserve notes are "backed" by all the goods and services in the economy."
      http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/lega ...
      • dopplerdog, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2And if you can't have faith in the government, who can you have faith in?
    • pfranz, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Not since 1963. The US dollar is unbacked by any physical asset.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United ...
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard
      • brad3378, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2wrong - the US dollar is backed by nukes. - God bless America - ***** yeah
        • Dajestar, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7Sigh..... This is what annoys people about the US, dumb people like this that think the ability to destroy the world somehow allows you to get away with everything... "China wouldn't be able to collect our debt cause we would nuke 'em!!!" Reminds me of the bully in high school that always beat up and took the lunch money of the nerd. Now the Nerd drives a Mercedes SLK and has a 6 figure income while the bully is the champion beer can-stacking of the trailer park. He can still beat up the nerd, but I would rather be the nerd than the bully ;-)
  • TJATL, on 10/10/2007, -3/+6Sweet if we are really POOR, time to lean on all the communist and socialist countries of the world to bail us out because communism and socialism is the best! Now they can pay for all of our *****.
  • bwanac, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1i am moving to switzerland... oh my heritage!
  • orgazmo, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2I'm amazed at how some people are not aware of the ballpark of their country's current debt :S
    Here in Khannadha we hear about it all the time
    • whereisian, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1And yet we're only at 16. C'mon, we can do better.
  • unity2k, on 10/10/2007, -2/+7Figure it out guys, we borrow and spend more and drive everyone elses economic engines. China, we are their biggest importer. Japan, where do all the Toyota's and Honda's go? Who buys the most Playstations? From Germany, we buy the bulk of their Mercedes Benz, BMW, Audi, Bentley's, Porsche that are not sold in their own country. From Saudi Arabia, we all know how much oil they throw our way. Norway delivers telecommunications equipment around the world, and on and on. It is our consumptive habits that drive wealth to these nations who accumulate wealth themselves thus driving up their standards of living to buy more junk, travel, movies, music, software, services, Starbucks, McDonalds, KFC, Coca-Cola, banking, insurance, and various other intellectual property from us and our other "poor" allies. Someone has to be the driving economic force of bluntly stupid consumption and what the heck, we are great at it. If it wasn't America buying up so much crap, who would? The Germans and Japanese are too conservative and save for a rainy day. The Chinese money is in the hands of a communist government, Saudi Arabia's money is held by the Kingdom and its rulers who dole out interest to the an oil welfare state. America is a money vacuum and as soon as we re-establish our respect around the world following a hopeful regime change, we will once again kick ass doing something new everyone else needs and wants to imitate thus driving our economy through the roof, bringing down our debt, current account deficit, and poor image.
    • LeeMaple, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2He who dies with the most toys is still dead..
    • ikoul, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2That's some wishful thinking.
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