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[Dwarf]

Yes, Dwarf.  We, like all countries, borrow money from other countries.  Global economy is fun, huh?

I know debt is pretty normal. But this is literally a huuuuge shit ton of money.

[Virex]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it normal for a country to be in debt?

If everyone is in dept then who is everyone owing money to?

The Chinese and Japanese mainly, I believe.  Although they're in debt too, to private companies, I guess.

And tho other countries. If the US is in debt to china, china is in debt to the UK and the UK is in debt to the US, you've got a simple system where consecutive debts don't cancle out.

[Neruz]

Yes, Dwarf.  We, like all countries, borrow money from other countries.  Global economy is fun, huh?

I know debt is pretty normal. But this is literally a huuuuge shit ton of money.

Actually, as a % of America's GDP it's about average.

[rickvoid]

Decades of Economic Socialism under the guise of Progressivism and entitlement philosophies. Plus, both major US political parties are into big government programs, no respect for the constitution or States right, and a ridiculously spend happy.

Out before flames.

[zchris13]

The flames started at the thread title, man. It's too late.

That is a a shit ton of money, indeed. Hasn't Russia been buying up some of our debt, recently?

[Aqizzar]

FLAAAMES

Anyway.  I don't know a whole lot about how this works, but I do enough to say that national debt doesn't work anything like the way individual people deal with banks.  It's more like how bonds work, in that government "debt" is bought up by banks and such that happen to be in other countries, which the government in question then pays interest on.  Or part of it is something like that.

One thing I do know is that everyone who complains about China owning so much American debt is secretly a racist.  Banks in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands each own more debt than Chinese banks do, but you never anyone saying that's a foreign policy issue.

[Lord Dullard]

everyone who complains about China owning so much American debt is secretly a racist

To be fair, it could well be ignorance rather than racism. There's a lot of incorrect information/myths floating around on the internet (not to mention the media), after all.

[Cthulhu]

I'd say more jingoism than racism.  We're pretty cool with the UK, but China always feels like a bad guy.  It's easy to say "Look how much of our country China owns they're trying to take us over!"

Of course, maybe it's all the same thing.

[Aqizzar]

Hey, the man said "Out before flames.", I'm doing my part to make his departure not in vain.

[rickvoid]

Or perhaps we just don't like the idea of owing money to a foreign superpower that has interests that conflict with our own.

Part of the problem that is North Korea is the possibility that if the region slides the rest of the way into hell, China is poised to annex the whole frigging peninsula. Which is, of course, not in the interests of our allies in South Korea.

And dammit, I said I was out. Why do I let myself get drug back into these things?

[Leafsnail]

Part of the problem that is North Korea is the possibility that if the region slides the rest of the way into hell, China is poised to annex the whole frigging peninsula. Which is, of course, not in the interests of our allies in South Korea.

Why not?  The Chinese regime is significantly less repressive than the North Korean one.  Also, due to North Korea's ridiculously huge army, invading won't be an easy task even for a superpower.

[rickvoid]

We don't want another Korean war in the first place. Everyone would get involved eventually, tensions would mount, we're talking the beginnigs of a WW3 here. Do not want.

Plus, SK is a free-market democracy, China is... Not. We value our allies sovereignty.

Anyway, we've gotten a little off topic, and since I'm here, might as well stay. Sorry Aq.

I submit that I know how and where to spend my hard earned cash better than government agent 32N and can do it in a manner that might actually stimulate both the US economy and that of the rest of the worlds.

Discuss.

[Lord Dullard]

I doubt they'd really need to invade - China is NK's most important ally. If the NK government finally imploded the people would be looking somewhere for aid, and they wouldn't have to look that far.

[Cthulhu]

Status quo.  North Korea doesn't cause many problems globally, it's content to sit there and wallow in its own oppression and stagnancy.  If China took over it'd unbalance the situation.

[Neruz]

Part of the problem that is North Korea is the possibility that if the region slides the rest of the way into hell, China is poised to annex the whole frigging peninsula. Which is, of course, not in the interests of our allies in South Korea.

Why not?  The Chinese regime is significantly less repressive than the North Korean one.  Also, due to North Korea's ridiculously huge army, invading won't be an easy task even for a superpower.

If China annexed the Korean peninsula, they'd annex the whole thing, not just the north bit.