Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
I have to ask if a per capita calculation is truly accurate in the case of a national debt, as opposed to a per person calculation based around contribution to the economy.
|
Oh, I don't think my simple population to debt calaculation is economically meaningful in the least. There are all sorts of ratios and formulas going into these types of measures that I couldn't begin to understand unless I was an economist.
The reason I did a quick calculation of the per capita / per person share is because that is what that debt clock in Vancouver was doing. It took the total debt, divided it by the population and stated "your share". I always found that to be interesting.
As I recall, when the debt clock started, it was around $20k per person, on the basis of that calculation. It has shrunk significantly (no doubt due to factors such as debt reduction, population increase and perhaps even currency valuation).