The Picture of the Century

I guess if you look at the numbers from Americans for Tax Reform, it turns out an average American worker basically spends 7.5 months of the year just working for the government, leaving only the rest of the year for themselves.

And then you’ve got the head of the Federal Reserve warning us that inflation is spiking, the debt is ballooning, and interest rates and debt servicing costs are all just climbing higher and higher...
Rohatinski warned that the amount we're paying in interest on our foreign debt is getting dangerously close to actually overtaking our GDP, which might mean the government loses its own financial footing and ends up becoming way too dependent on outside funding.

IMAGE OF THE CENTURY

rapidraven34 said: The Federal Reserve Chair is sounding the alarm: inflation is climbing, debt is mounting, and interest rates along with debt servicing costs are all on the rise...
Ben Bernanke warned that the amount being paid out in interest on foreign debt is nearly approaching a point where it could outpace the GDP itself. This might lead to a significant reduction in the government's own financial capacity, potentially resulting in an even greater reliance on foreign funding sources.

THE IMAGE OF THE CENTURY

Excessive imports, interest payments constantly flowing abroad, and then there are the dividends too. I suppose things aren't looking particularly bright for us.

Ronald Moore8 said:Excessive imports, interest rates bleeding out to foreign markets, and dividends too. It’s just not looking good for us.

People have been spinning this same tired narrative for decades. Yet, somehow, things always seem to turn around. I suppose chronic pessimism is just baked into the American DNA. 🙂

It’s not really pessimism—I think it’s more like being way too optimistic than anyone probably should be 😁

a certain level of moderate concern🤣

Look, I read the news religiously because, honestly, it’s my job. And let me tell you, I’ve seen hundreds of these "doomsday" headlines in our papers from back in '91 all the way to today. If we actually listened to all those self-proclaimed experts—assuming they even knew what they were talking about—we’d be in way worse shape than Liberia and Chad combined right now. But guess what? We aren't! In fact, things are looking better than they did ten years ago, or even five years ago.

Anyone who keeps a close eye on the so-called union basket knows the deal: the average household income hasn't even covered 60 percent of the typical family's expenses. And that’s been the reality for about fifteen years now. To put it bluntly, the average American family has been basically living on thin air for a decade and a half.

Arthur Anderson49 said:Anyone who keeps a close eye on what we call the union basket knows that average household income hasn't covered more than 60 percent of typical family expenses for quite some time. It’s been that way for about fifteen years now. To put it bluntly, the average American family has been living on thin air for a decade and a half.

Are we really talking about "average household income" here, or just plain old wages!?
The real secret—if you want to know why things actually work—is that the average American family usually has two paychecks coming in, plus whatever they make under the table, or maybe a cousin sending money from overseas, or even just skimming a little off the top at their job...

Of course, I'm not saying everyone does that, but it happens. Back when I was working a government job, I honestly had no clue how much a single pen or a ream of paper actually cost. You think those clerks at the student union center have any idea what a container of yogurt costs at the local grocery store?

People find ways to get by using whatever tools they have available—even if they end up nibbling away at the very branch they're sitting on—but still...

Nah, I honestly think we're looking at a total income issue here. If you look at the numbers, there's no way to claim the average American family is pulling in two full salaries. I mean, that would imply we have something like two and a half million people working, right? But if I remember correctly, back in 2004, the official count was closer to 1.1 million. So, when you do the math, that's less than one single salary per typical American household of about 3.5 people.

The average American family is absolutely drowning in credit card debt, overdraft fees, and loans, yet they’ll still pull up in a shiny new SUV—probably on a financing plan, of course—and they’ve got a house full of brand-new furniture because, let’s face it, you can’t exactly show off a cheap sofa if you want to look successful 🙄. They’ve got the latest dishwasher too, because apparently, if you don't have one, you aren't even part of civilized society 🙄. Everything looks great on the surface, and hey, things are "fine" as long as the bubble doesn't burst...

Arthur Anderson49 said:No, I actually think we're talking about total household income here. Otherwise—and I wouldn't go so far as to say the average American family pulls in two full salaries—that would imply there are something like two and a half million workers out there. If I recall correctly, back in 2004, the official count was closer to 1.1 million. So, when you do the math, that works out to less than one salary per typical three-to-four person household.

We've got 1.3 million employed, 1.1 million retirees, and maybe 300,000 people looking for work...
It’s probably worth checking out www.census.gov ...

Kenneth Myers10 said:There are 1.3 million employed people, 1.1 million retirees, and 300,000 unemployed...
You really ought to check out www.bls.gov ...

So, basically, we’re looking at just one paycheck per household instead of two, contrary to what you were claiming! As far as I can tell, there are about 130 million households in the US.

Sandra Ortiz50 said:The average American family is drowning in credit card debt, overdraft fees, and loans, yet they’ve got a car sitting in the driveway—maybe even two, financed of course—plus some trendy new furniture because apparently, a cheap sofa is all you need to look successful...🙄 They’ve got a dishwasher because every housewife needs one just to stay relevant...🙄 And everyone acts like things are fine. Well, sure, things are fine as long as the music keeps playing...

It's the exact same story across the entire West...

Debt is the engine driving the whole system. Honestly, nobody has any incentive to change the status quo; banks thrive on interest, retailers live off sales, and manufacturers rely on those retailers to move their stock. This isn't some unique phenomenon or a local invention.

Americans are just as deep in debt themselves—since the standard there involves owning multiple cars and large houses rather than just an apartment, and median salaries aren't actually that massive—but no one treats it as a temporary bubble. I suppose it's been "temporary" for a century now. 🙂

Furthermore, we really ought to start distinguishing between the debt held by the government, corporations, and private citizens. If my neighbor takes out three different loans to finance three Volkswagens, that is strictly his problem and his bank's problem. It has nothing to do with me or the national debt. We aren't living under socialism anymore where everything is tossed into one giant pot, resulting in these nonsensical, aggregated debt statistics. A government loan for a federal highway, Matin's debt to Germany, or a corporation's loan to build a factory or a budget two-star hotel are three entirely distinct financial realities.

@goldengull3 Look, those three categories might be technically distinct, but if my country is drowning in debt, I’m the one who ends up feeling the weight of it.
What really eats at me is the realization that we actually had the chance—we truly did—to run this country much more efficiently. Instead, we've basically sold ourselves out; we're buried in debt, our manufacturing sector is a ghost town, and everything revolves around retail, mostly peddling stuff that isn't even made here while services stay outrageously overpriced.
Take the banks, for example—sure, they’re raking it in with massive interest margins and reporting huge profits, but a giant chunk of those gains just gets shipped off to big players in Europe or overseas. That’s exactly why interest rates are so sky-high. And guess what? That hits me right in the wallet every single time I try to take out a loan.
If things were actually going well, someone could probably buy a brand-new Volkswagen without needing a mountain of credit. That would imply people are actually earning decent wages and the economy is actually thriving. Maybe I was just being too optimistic, thinking the country would experience some kind of golden age or economic renaissance after the rebuilding phase... but since that hasn't happened, my optimism has pretty much hit rock bottom.

Only fools buy cars with cash upfront...

@Kenneth Myers10 we really ought to throw retirees into this equation too—and maybe folks collecting unemployment, or even those freelancers just trying to keep their heads above water—so, honestly? I’d suggest we just set a flat rate at one and a half times the median income per household. 😎 🙂

I honestly don't know how anyone survives without a reliable way to handle those annoying little coughs! You ever get that one persistent tickle in your throat that just won't quit? It’s the absolute worst, right? I was thinking about how much easier life is when you actually have the right stuff on hand to deal with it. Seriously, why do we even wait until we're feeling totally wiped out before looking for a solution? Wouldn't it be better to just stay ahead of the game? Anyway, just my two cents! kaže:
You know what really gets to me? It’s that nagging feeling that we actually had a real shot at it. Like, we truly could have stepped up and run this country so much better than we have. Don't you ever just sit back and wonder why we didn't take that leap when we had the chance? We were right there!

Honestly, I think saying "we could have" is a bit of a stretch. It would be way more accurate to say "someone could have." When you really break it down, that possibility was purely theoretical! Don't you think?

Honestly, let’s be real for a second—who else in this entire country could have actually pulled that off better? Seriously, looking at the field, is there anyone else who truly had the vision or the guts to make those calls? I mean, come on! Who else was even in the running to do a better job than this?

Back then, the only group with enough power to completely flip the script on the entire country was the Republican Party, and honestly? They didn't have any real interest in playing fair or doing things the right way. In fact, they had plenty of practical, self-serving reasons to pull whatever shady stunts they were pulling! Meanwhile, the Democratic Party had absolutely zero credibility at the time, and if you look at their track record, they were being pretty damn naive about pretty much every single issue facing us. Can you even imagine how messy that combo is?

So, it finally happened. Honestly? It’s exactly what we all saw coming given how things were playing out on the ground. It sucks, yeah—definitely some bad news to swallow—but let's be real: was anyone actually surprised? Not really. There just wasn't any momentum or anything in the cards to push things toward a better outcome. It was pretty much inevitable at this point!

Look, take the big banks for example—yeah, they’re definitely raking it in, living off those massive interest spreads and posting insane profit margins every single quarter. But here’s the kicker: a huge chunk of those profits isn't even staying local. It’s being shipped right back to headquarters in places like New York or Chicago, or sent overseas to satisfy international investors. That’s exactly why interest rates stay so sky-high! And honestly, who gets stuck with the bill? Me. Every time I look at taking out a loan or using credit, it hits my wallet directly. Isn't it wild how that cycle works?

Honestly, you’ve got it all wrong! Remember how insane interest rates used to be back when those banks were run by local interests? Getting a loan was basically an Olympic sport—it was an absolute art form just to get a "maybe." And don't even get me started on the corruption; people were practically treating the bank vaults like their own personal piggy banks, and because of that, those institutions were collapsing left and right. It was a total mess! But look at the difference now that we have major international players running the show. Since those global banks stepped in, interest rates have plummeted, getting a mortgage or a business loan is a breeze, and the whole system is actually profitable and rock-solid. Isn't it amazing how much better things work when there's real stability in the mix?

Honestly, I don't see how this could be anything but a win! Think about it for a second. If someone from my own backyard robs me blind, kicks me where it hurts, and spits on my name—only to drop dead and leave me stuck picking up the tab for their funeral and looking after their kids—is that actually a good deal? Is that "winning"? Of course not! But then, look at the alternative. What if an outsider comes in and starts backing my business and my personal life with way better terms than any local ever would? And they’re actually friendly, polite, and focused on taking care of their own family without ever trying to screw me over? How can anyone call that a bad thing? It’s a total no-brainer!

Look, on paper, we’d all be jumping for joy if an American banker acted with half the intelligence and foresight of some big international player, right? But let's be real—history hasn't exactly given us much reason to believe that's a realistic possibility. At this point, it's nothing more than a nice little theory. Until that actually happens, I can't say I have any regrets about our banks being foreign-owned. Honestly? These institutions are just way too massive and lazy to deal with our nonsense. Why bother fighting them when they're already set up to just move on?

Maybe I was just being way too optimistic, thinking that once we finally finished all the rebuilding and got everything back on track, the country would hit this massive golden age or some kind of huge economic boom... but clearly, that's not happening, and honestly? My hype has totally deflated.

Man, your expectations were just totally unrealistic! I mean, seriously, what kind of foundation did you think we were building this "boom" on? What was the actual logic there? Are we talking about fifteen years of pure stagnation at the tail end of the old socialist era? Or maybe that baseline of low average education levels? How about those five years where everything was just constant chaos—no peace, no stability, just total turbulence? And don't even get me started on that predatory, "wild west" style privatization mess! Was it supposed to be built on five or six years of being basically shut out from the global economy? A complete lack of capital? That deep-seated suspicion and hostility toward foreign investment? Or maybe that whole tragicomic legal system that feels like a bad joke? We’re looking at a fragmented, outdated agricultural sector, a massive dose of arrogance, and... well, let's just say a hilarious desire to see the neighbors' livestock suffer, too! Honestly, how could anyone expect anything else?

wapi said:Only an idiot would buy a car with cash upfront...

@Vojky Honestly, shouldn't we throw retirees into the mix too? And what about unemployment benefits or those freelancers just trying to get by? I’m thinking we should just call it a day and give everyone a flat rate of 1.5 salaries per household! 😎 🙂

I'm right there with you. If only they were a little bit higher...

way to go, Miller 🙏 🙏