Job Discussion Forums

[john henry]

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?

[Guy Courchesne]

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.

2 cents

[moonraven]

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.

[ChinaMovieMagic]

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."

[ls650]

[waxwing]

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)