

US government's financial position hit $11.46 trillion deficit in 2009   - cwan
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Report-shows-governments-apf-1771747627.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode=

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ecuzzillo
Don't they mean debt? I thought deficit was net increase in debt per year.

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s42
You're right. Deficit is d(Debt)/dT.

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dantheman
It's not just debt though, it's entitlements and obligations.

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karl11
National entitlements and obligations are at about 100 trillion dollars
(medicare, medicaid, social security etc.). This is based on estimates made by
David Walker who was the head of the GAO under Clinton.

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TNO
"I am not worried about the deficit. It is big enough to take care of itself.
" - Reagan

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raquo
Now they only need a half of that half-kilometer S-type asteroid...

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marshallp
Deficit worries are hocus pocus. America should go should in much debt as
possible if there are people willing to lend it money. When it comes to
payback time it can simply deflate away its currency and as a side effect get
many offshored jobs back. The real problem is not deficits, but where they are
spent. military and the rich.

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dantheman
First it's inflation not deflation.

Second, what you are suggesting is one of the worst and most immoral ideas
possible. Inflation steals wealth the most from the poor and middle class.
Second all government debt is inherently immoral because you are in essence
taking out a loan in someone else's name.

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yummyfajitas
No, inflation steals wealth from people who own dollars and dollar-denominated
assets. That's mostly the risk averse rich, as well as many foreign
governments who are trying to prop up the dollar.

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jeromec
No, dantheman has it right. Inflation hurts poorer people proportionately
more. Richer people tend to have assets like property which inflate in value
right along with the currency. If you inflate by 15% from one week to the next
a rich person's standard of living hasn't decreased much, but a poor person's
certainly has.

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yummyfajitas
Inflation has two effects; across the board pay cuts and it reduces the value
of dollar denominated assets. Pay cuts hit everyone with an income equally.

The poor/middle class tend to have a larger fraction of their wealth in
property. The typical middle class family owns either a home or a call
option/mortgage on a home which comprises the bulk of their wealth.

The rich also own property, but it's not as large a fraction of their wealth
as it is for the poor. The typical rich person owns both a home and an
investment portfolio, the latter of which will suffer with inflation.

