Quote:
Originally posted by Lurch@Oct 4 2004, 03:33 PM
This weekend, I read an article in Money Sense talking about US debt - apparently, total US debt (personal, corporate and public) has now surpassed the previous record level achieved during the Depression. Measured wrt GDP, total US debt now exceeds 300% of GDP, while during the peak of the Depression the debt got to about 285% of GDP.
The Bush-lovers always talk about how Reagan proved "Deficits don't matter" but the total debt to GDP ratio in the '80's was well below the levels today, and still there was a recession immediately following Reagan. (I don't have the article with me, so I don't have the exact #'s)
Anyway, the article scared me more than a little. For starters, a lot of people believe that the 'debt wall' is responsible for a lot of recessions, and if this is even somewhat true, the results this time around could be pretty severe. As interest rates begin to rise (which is already underway) the entire economy could buckle under this debt load. The thing that really scares me is that GW could be in charge when this happens, and I don't trust the guy's economic policy under good conditions, never mind a disaster.
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The only policy I've supported Bush on is Afghanistan/Iraq but I said before that latter conflict a change in the White House is needed in 2004.
It's everything else that the Bush team has done and particularly the piling up of monumental deficits that would cause me to vote Kerry if I had the opportunity.
The humorous thing for fans of neo-con theory is that Bush is doing more to surrender USA independence and sovereign decisions with massive deficits than might be the case with simply cow-towing to the UN.
When I was in L.A last year my inlaws said that it is not incommon to have like 50 year mortgages. The housing prices were insane. Is this true for the rest of the U.S?
The deductibility of mortgage interest from taxes - unlike Canada - would probably pump the desireability of such mortgages. And would probably pump up the value of the housing market as well.
Cowperson