Saturday 11 February 2017

UK: Sixth Richest But Second Largest Debtors Also

Normally, if you are in debt you get a couple of nasty letters and then either Big Larry comes around with a sledgehammer and eyeing your kneecaps or a man in a wig sends you to a big house with security guards for a few months, and then makes you pay
it back in installments.
Doesn't happen quite that way with countries who it seems just give handed more loans to cover the payments or print more money but still go around with the label of being one of the richest nations, something Britain is very good at with the Worlds 6th richest nation printed on their business cards. 
According to the CIA World Factbook, Britain is second in the largest debt list with an eyewatering amount owing of £9.2 trillion so if we are in the black that much, how can we be one of the richest?
The top debtors are the United States who owe $18 trillion to others, then us Brits and then it's France (5.7 trillion), Germany (5.5trillion), Luxembourg (3.4 trillion)Japan (2.8 trillion) and Italy (2.6 trillion).
Looking at the list of those with the largest debts, all the G20 nations are there so with all these, if their outgoings exceed their incomings then how can they genuinely say they are 'the richest'?
Even basing it on percentage of GDP, America's debt is 96%, UK 569%, France 222%, Germany 145%, Luxembourg 3443%, Japan 60% and Italy 124%.  
It is a long way down the bottom of the list that we find Macau, Brunei and Palau with no debt whatsoever so whatever income they receive, they get to keep and not pay out to others they owe to. 
So it's the Emporers new clothes scenario when the G20 get together to work out how the Global Economy should be run but we are still waiting for someone to stand up, point a finger and say: 'But they are all broke' because they all are so instead of prancing about the World saying we are the 6th richest, how about being honest and saying we are also the second brokest and we still have Brexit to look forward to.

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