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11/27/2003 Entry: "Hard economics"

According to the US Treasury, the United States has a National Debt of $6,916,263,600,308.44, or at least it did on the 24th of this month. And no, I don't know how they keep track of 44 cents in such a number. That's about $23,700 for every citizen.

The national Debt for Britain is around £400 billion (our bean counters are obviously not so careful as the ones they have stateside) That looks like £6700 per head or thereabouts to me. Call it $11 300.

I'm genuinely surprised by this. We're the ones with a history of nationalised industries, a National Health Service (Shriek! Socialized medicine!), and a "welfare state" which (I'm told) is much more extensive than in the USA. And apparently, it's cost us a lot less.

The economy of the USA is presented as more successful than the UK's. It's put down to less regulation, a more entrepreneurial culture, and sheer willingness to work hard. I'm not an economist and I've always accepted the premise. But now, I wonder.

Posted by Richard @ 11/28/2003 03:50 PM CST

According to the CIA World Factbook, the US has a per capita GDP of $37,600, and in the UK it is $25,300. This means that the debt in the US is roughly 63% of GDP, whereas the debt in the UK is 45% of GDP.

To put that in perspective, my mortgage is roughly 224% of my income. So I guess I shouldn't be throwing stones.

Posted by Dan @ 11/28/2003 02:50 PM CST

dives for cover while the list of horid government interventions in education, health and wefare is recounted

Posted by Richard @ 11/28/2003 09:11 AM CST

I'm surprised by Pieter's comment as well. Since when is the US socialistic? You have to look hard to find anything socialistic about it.

Posted by Swan @ 11/28/2003 12:41 AM CST

Pieter -- credit me with a modicum of common sense! The per capita debt is over double the UK's.

And my point wasn't that the US is too "socialistic" - far from it. I was really surprised by the numbers, that's all.

Posted by Richard @ 11/27/2003 05:35 PM CST

My, there's a stunning insight, Pieter.

(I now need to figure out a way to clean coffee from a keyboard after having spat it out in disbelief)

Posted by Wood @ 11/27/2003 05:32 PM CST

I'm not denying that the U.S. is much too socialistic. But...I think you're neglecting to take into account the fact that the U.S. is just a tad bit larger than the UK. That may account, at least somewhat, for the drastically larger debt.

Posted by Pieter Friedrich @ 11/27/2003 05:06 PM CST