美国债务问题的背后

I want you to think of the current crisis in terms of a credit card. It's been issued by US tax payers and bond holders, the bank of borrowers. And it's been issued to the US government. Now needless to say, the government has a platinum credit card. It can borrow money and has done for many decades. This credit card has fueled the US economy. Well, now the credit card bill has arrived. And it shows a sorry state of affairs—overspending of over 118 billion dollars a month with no sign of major reduction. And that spending, well, you and I spend for cloths, and meals, and movies; in this case, it's defense, medicare, social security. But there’s actually very few areas that you can cut back on. This is pretty much all that can be cut. The rest, sacrosanct. So that's the scenario under which the overspending takes place. The US credit card that we’ve just shown you has a debt limit much of you and I would have, in fact, exactly as you and I would have. But in the US case, it's 14.3 trillion dollars. Now when you and I overspend, we ring the bank and say raise the limit. The US has done that 74 times since 1962, interestingly the year I was born. What has happened now with that credit card? The bank has basically said August 2nd is the date when you can no longer borrow anymore. There are some people who suggest it may be August 15th when the cash runs out. It doesn't really matter which it is. When all is said and done, the credit card bill has arrived. The credit card is groaning under its own weight. And the US government has been told by borrowers it's time to stop spending.