Hey OneBuck doing better?

I dedicate this blog to
joni Mitchell's Real Good For Free

I was looking in the library the other day for articles on
valuations of assets, real and intangible, of the US. There were
none. What does it matter you say if we don't count $200 trillion?
We continually hear about going broke but we are not told and it is
not discussed how much we have to spend. This of course to the trained eye is
assinine. We can either be rich or poor but we can't be both. And if your
going to run your mouth off you had dam well better be with full disclosure.
There was no article or articles.I have come to the conclusion that there are
none.Let's see isn't not telling the truth the same as telling a lie. It is.
So all of these newspapers that pedal this eight grade drivel and apparently
don't have any integrity are lying. Now you know one more reason I hate
newspapers. Surprised?

Going broke is not always about assets. Even if it was- the value of all assets in the US, WTF? Do you mean government held assets, commercially held assets, privately held assets, some combination of the above? Even if it were possible to get the 'total value' all those assets, that wont tell you how much debt is withstanding on those assets, who holds the debt, etc..

Newspapers and the rest of the media just report news, opinions etc.. So when you hear reports in the press about 'going broke' its just a repot, not something the media are coming up with by themselves. Blaming the press for reports is blaming the messenger, not who is actually saying that sort of thing. Without some link to where you are reading these reports maybe you need to rethink that 'full disclosure' thing? Cause without that it looks like just another baseless attack on the press.

There are LQ blogs - add your drivel there.
Else you will be added to "ignore-lists".

I hope this isn't any personal attack towards OneBuck.

You don't mention what exactly you looked for at the library or whether you consulted a librarian, but a web search for US economic statistics will turn up a wealth of information.

The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the U. S. Economic and Statistics Administration would good places to start. The Financial Times, a British publication, also compiles reputable statistics. Any library worthy of the name should have the government statistics and the Financial Times in the reference of periodical sections.

An "accountant's view" of "assets" is also not quite applicable when you are talking about nations.

The accounting equation is: Assets = Liabilities + Owner's Equity. But that only applies to a company, which is a closed system. A sovereign nation is an open system, which creates(!) the environment in which corporations (and individuals) operate. The accounting equation does not describe this, although similar equations are often used since they are easier for laymen to understand.

For instance: "national debt" is a bit of a misnomer. In the United States, "Federal Reserve Notes" are supposedly issued when the Treasury issues "bonds," but the US Government has a "Federal Reserve Bank" which has, for some unexplained reason, the unlimited capacity to "buy them." What is actually happening is that the Government is issuing liquidity of two types simultaneously: one for the left-hand side of the accounting equation, and one for the right-hand side. It has the unlimited power to do both.

Although governments collect "taxes," their actual purpose is to siphon-off some of your assets so that you cannot accumulate too much of them. Even if you hoarded 100% of the money you received, you could not "hoard" the money you were compelled to pay as tax.

The "assets" of a national government, being the things that are formally owned by that organization, are not meaningfully tied to "owner's equity," of which a nation has none, nor "liability." Those assets were purchased on the open market (sometimes) but the money that was used to pay for them was issued, by a sovereign government with the exclusive power to do so.

In the states. Many clearly desperate changes were made to make the life-style last a little longer. They've been kicking cans for decades.

Politicians desperately needed more money but couln't be seen asking for any. So ingenious plans are made to just push a little longer to that miracle that can bring it all back. A very patriotic dream that is just not likely and less likely every day they sacrifice one more part of themselves for another day.

Here's one example of financial genius. The creation of the debt-based society. Also known as the great selling of every real asset to banks.

After the big paydays of the 50s, Amerikans created the debt based-system we have today. They taxed property (without representation) while land rates were cheap and didn't seem worth the fight to the average people. They then had a national land survey so they might know the price of every foot. all just in time for the mortgaging of everything.

As a result of house rates going up x10 or more, taxing on these also went up by ten and not one politician got blamed for raising taxes! Was a big success.

They even supported the changing of the very definition of "own" to mean to "have at least a small stake in" rather than "own" as the ol timers knew it. Any time an Amerikan says "own" I have to ask what he means. Do people who own a stock in Apple "own" it? "His car" usually translates to "the bank's car".

Amerikans are in denial that they haven't already lost everything. They are in the same spot as in the old USSR where access to things is decided based on subservience to the ruling cadre who for Amerikans are the bankers.
In the USSR, if the party loved you, you wanted for nothing. In Amerika, its the bankers. They have everything and the power to give and withdraw everything from your car to you very life. They are God there.

And the Amerikans gave them everything without a kick. Easy trick. Wanna know how?

Business research in the early 40s or so showed that people would be willing to pay many times as much for the same thing if that price was based on an "affordable" increment as most do their budgets based on these increments rather than the true price.
Politicians of the time were shown how it could help them get their money minus the blame and a plan was born. Step one was real estate tax. You can pick up the trail there.

So for most of Amerikans, the banks own your homes, cars and half or more of all else and if you ever anger your masters, they can take it back. Thwaaaaak!

My only inheritance a debt, I left a long long time ago and never regret it. Lost nothing and gained many freedoms to boot. I would advise it.

I suggest you leave before "the last train out".

I think the most insidious actions of some U. S. politicians has been positing that taxation is somehow inherently evil, when in fact it is the cost of civilization. It is a corollary to those same politicians positing that there is no such thing as the common good. They think that roads will somehow build themselves, fire and police departments will somehow pay for themselves, students will teach themselves without school lunches in classrooms of 30 or more, and so on.

This has led to subterfuges to fund the polity, the most prominent using gambling (that is, lotteries) to raise revenue. I could go on, but you get my point.

It is indeed true that some taxation is inherently evil--in the U. S., poll taxes were such. Some is incompetently or clumsily administered; humanity ain't perfect.

But the denial of the existence of the common good and concomitant denial of the responsibility of the citizenry--especially those members of the citizenry who have benefited most from the fat of the land--to help fund the services that they want, need, and use is vile and venal.

Ask me nicely, and I'll tell what I really think.

Money is part of the system of weights and measures......;
And,
there is a problem there within there:
Explain to me How/Why you are able to measure the effort of a person with pieces of paper, cloth, and metal?
There is no one paying back to Gaia - Mother Earth - what they have taken from her except those who care for the planet.

The rest of you...

You're not going to care until the stuff hits the fan and you have to survive.

But, anyway... does it matter?

When you have the money making machine it does not matter how much money you owe, just create it, pay with the created money and the inflation will be split between the rest of the people using that currency.

I do not take as an attack on me. I have had some moderation issues with the OP. Most issues are due to English not being kudsu first language and posting style. Wrong forum posting and thread content.

@kudsu
Since you posted this as a blog entry. It should be posted within your personal LQ Blog. You can enter and create your Blog via LQ UserCP on the right of the thread page under My LQ.

One buck -sorry old friend.

My training was as an accountant. I always tried to be letter perfect. To fully analyze what I am talking about use replacement cost and use appraisers rules. This will give you a true value. I hope this describes where I am at. Some this for the US are incalculable!

Just read a long article about how Canada is in trouble. The article was in a stock market web site so the data may be skewed.

I worked at a large company many years ago. A fellow worker was from the corporate financial department who would tell me of the ways they used to account for money. You'd be surprised how many ways something could be sold for a profit or loss.

I personally doubt any and all financial sort of data. (except what I have in my pocket)

I wouldn't make anybody look for the truth but
If you want to look you can. What worked for
Me was looking at things that weren't talked about
or mentioned. What isn't there?

I think I should be more helpful. How about this use: appraisal of every asset in the US. That's income, replacement cost and asset value. Try it. Hit me back if I can be of any help.