printWhen broadcaster Lou Dobbs took to the blackboard, I got a bit of a fright. Flashbacks of Glenn Beck’s not-so-wonderful-mind moments, I suppose. But no. Mr. Dobbs drives home the severity of the situation stateside, by juxtaposing the American economy to certain Eurozone countries.
Take into account, however, that GDP measures the Brownian Motion of debt growth. The unreliability of the indices (unemployment, etc.) used, in general, means that matters are far worse.
Debt as a percentage of GDP:
France: 86%
Italy: 120% (“In a hot mess”)
Greece: 165% (“In a world of its own”)
US: 101%
Economic Growth (take into account, however, that GDP measures the Brownian Motion of debt growth):
France & the US: 1.7% growth
Greece: 7% contraction
Italy & Spain: 1/2% growth
Average age at retirement:
US: 65 years
France: 59
Italy: 60
Greece & Germany: 61
Spain: 62
Labor-Force Participation (this ought to shake you up):
US: 63.6% (“A thirty year low.”)
Greece: 71%
France: 72%
Italy: 75%
Spain & Germany: 76%
I would hazard a guess that the Europeans best us in workforce participation because they have more onerous labor regulations. This is cold comfort, of course.
The “labor force participation” is due to the fact that Obama et al have kept unemployment below 10% since if you have been out of work too long, you are REMOVED from the labor force!
How bad is it really? We all know that Obama cooks the books to fool the fools, meaning the lowing herd of American voters. I suspect that the Europeans do too. One of these days it’s going to go to hell on both sides of the Atlantic, probably all at once in some sort economic dominoe disaster. Then we had all better stand by for action. When civilizations collapse it aint pretty.
It’s like comparing people who have jumped off a cliff. The first guy off will impact first, but it won’t magically soften the deceleration for those still on their way down.
The French just elected a “socialist” president. Silly me. I thought they were all socialists. The average Frenchman is a leftist or outright marxist who hates the United States.
Tthat’s why they liked Obama so much. He’s a leftist who hates the United States. Maybe he can retire to France as their next president. I’m sure he can come up with a French birth certificate.
Just for instance, the US debt/GDP of 101%. Not. There’s an additional 5-7 trillion in debt paper parked at the govt mortage agencies. So the (more) real US ratio is something like 140%. Almost, I have to admire Chmn. Ben for keeping this Euro-American Ponzi going for as long as he has; a true virtuoso of economic corruption.