Here's the article:

http://www.nationalreview.com/nrof_bartlett/bartlett200409080940.asp

Scary. 45 Trillion in the coffers? That's a steep number. What does this indicate for the future of America?

Good show on the article; I think it's what the New York Times and others have been citing in recent articles--Bartlett's name comes up in more than one.

My mood is such, however, that all I can think of regarding indications for the future is somewhat metaphysical: the future, just like the present, is mere illusion.

I remember an old Garfield daily strip from around 20 years ago; Jon served Garfield his lunch, Garfield immediately tears into the bowl, but scatters the food all over. Jon asks him what's up, and Garfield's response is, "With all the horse meat, there's gotta be a pony in there somewhere!"

Sometimes I feel the same way about reality; Bartlett's article sounds like the actualization of a certain leftist paranoia that was never able to reconcile its damning indictment against the American economic paradigm ("capitalism") with its own highly-socialist tendencies promise approximately nothing insofar as "another way" can be found to pay for all the grandiose ideas.

So it does sometimes seem that if you tear the world apart with reckless abandon, you can assert, "There's gotta be some reality in there, somewhere!"

I'll try to give a more thoughtful response later, when the hack-comedy response wears off. Such are first impressions.

America needsta take a debt management class. :D

I think every country needs a lesson in debt management.

Truth to tell, Germany runs a debt that is nearly as high... But sometimes it looks like everyone is endebted with everyone else.

Ooops, USA debt is in trillion, and here I thougt it was billion. :eek:

Ok, I revoke what I said about Germany, we only have a debt about 42 billion...

Let's eliminate the need for money!

Inflation was always an excellent tool for debt elimination. I am pretty sure USA will rape world twice. #1 World is working for $, providing USA with cheap, REAL goods (in an exchange for green/digital "paper" of questionable value). #2 Value of $ will drop sooner or later, all $ denominated debts will be wiped out. USA will have the best of two worlds: Real goods and No debt. Ain't being an American great?

Current world trade is nothing BUT $ ponzie scheme. The last loser who'll stuck with $ or $ denominated debt will pay for the fun.

Dreamwalker, since nearly all of Europe has a common currency, what does that mean for each country's national debt?

The debts are still as high as they were without the euro, but it may look less. But there is no difference if the debt is 84 billion DM (deutsche Mark) or 42 billion euros.