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john henry
Joined: 23 Sep 2004 Posts: 44
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 8:16 pm Post subject: Per Capita Nonsense |
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What's all this about the US being bad because they haven't donated as much cash "per capita" as another counrty has? Would you ever blast another counrty, say China, for being as generous as we are? Of course not. It seems that donating on a per capita basis is only a good indication of a country's decency as long as it makes America look bad.
But what else is new? |
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Guy Courchesne

Joined: 10 Mar 2003 Posts: 9650 Location: Mexico City
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 8:21 pm Post subject: |
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Per capita is a nice way to compare economies of scale.
On the flip side, if we look at per capita debt in the third world, and track that debt as it's paid up to the first world, we could get some nice figures on how first-world per capita numbers get so high.
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moonraven
Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 3094
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Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2005 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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John Henry:
The US was scolded internationally--not because of its low per capita donation offer, but because of the attitude of its president, who vacationed on his Texas ranch while the rest of the planet responded to the disaster in Asia. The original US offer was 15 miilion dollars--roughly one third of the budget for Bush's inaugural bash....
Tightfistedness is poorly regarded in these times--especially when the US government had already alienated almost every other country on the globe with its arrogance and bellicosity. |
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ChinaMovieMagic
Joined: 02 Nov 2004 Posts: 2102 Location: YangShuo
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 11:24 am Post subject: |
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RE: Guy's point about debt
Prior to Pres. Reagan, US was the world's lender.
Now the US national debt is greater than that of all 3rd world countries combined.
AND...it pays much lower interest rates than the 3rd World.
The more the US borrows, the less there's available for 3rd World development projects.
I use the US national debt as an on-board numbers exercise...each time adding a zero and the class shouts the new number. As we get up to the billions, there's a feeling perceived: "Now we're talking REAL MONEY!" When we get into trillions, there's a confluence of unvoiced emotions:
"I thought they were rich?"
"What a way to run a rich country."
"Down, baby, down!"
""Not so fast, USA."
"Thank you Bush."
"China Century!"
In response to the oft-heard statement: "USA is so rich!" I typically reply:
"Yes, the USA rich people and rich companies are rich. But the governments--federal, state, local--are poor, because the rich are very smart, and their accountants and politicians help them avoid paying taxes." |
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ls650

Joined: 10 May 2003 Posts: 3484 Location: British Columbia
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 1:24 pm Post subject: |
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moonraven wrote: |
The US was scolded internationally--not because of its low per capita donation offer, but because of the attitude of its president, who vacationed on his Texas ranch while the rest of the planet responded to the disaster in Asia. |
Exactly right. Bush sat on his arse and said nothing for three days while the rest of the world reacted in horror to reports of many thousands of dead.
Bush is truly a moron. He can find 200+ billion dollars to fight a war in Iraq/Afghanistan, but has to be badgered into doing something that might actually build up some good will towards the USA.
When you consider that most of the victims are Muslim, Bush had a chance to prove he isn't on an anti-Islamic crusade - and he utterly blew that opportunity. |
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waxwing
Joined: 29 Jun 2003 Posts: 719 Location: China
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Posted: Thu Jan 06, 2005 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, of course, john henry, "per capita" figures are nonsense, only gross figures make sense.
That's why I consider it appalling that Liechtenstein hasn't stumped up half a billion dollars (about $15K per capita ..whoops, sorry, nonsense)
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Now the US national debt is greater than that of all 3rd world countries combined.
AND...it pays much lower interest rates than the 3rd World.
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I sometimes think this is partly because of the US military. As long as the US has "full spectrum dominance", that money is safe. Of course there's much more to it than military; there's also political structures, general wealth etc. But arguably it's the safest money in the world, hence the low interest rates. Interest rates are always in inverse proportion to risk - perfect safety = low returns.
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The more the US borrows, the less there's available for 3rd World development projects.
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That makes no sense. Nobody forces the Chinese government to buy US treasuries instead of Ukrainian government bonds. What would you do, in their shoes? |
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