At the time the digital debt clock was installed in 1989, the US national debt stood at just $2.7 trillion. Even then, the clock itself, invented by Seymour Durst, was a reminder to the fiscal planners of a growing concern. The prevailing confidence in the country's capability to surmount such debt was so high that spaces it allocated for the projected digits needed could not be surpassed. It was unimaginable. Today however, it is a fully grown creature that threatens the entire planet. The clock has been derailed because the size of the national debt exceeded the space allotted for all the digits to accurately record it. Durst's limited imagination miscalculated the insatiable appetite of the government to splurge on borrowed money.
President George Bush goes on national television to say that the crisis was "deeply unsettling" for Americans. That could be the understatement of the year. Why he excluded the rest of the globe is perhaps due to the limits of his imagination. Stock markets worldwide are going crazy, rising then dropping in a
confused stupor. Traders and brokers are losing their minds, their shirts and their pants trading in an unpredictable and uncontrollable situation. Iceland has gone bankrupt, and trading had to be suspended in several bourses globally. Japan's biggest insurance firm Yamato Life is already dead. Burial announcements to follow.
Wall Street's value has gone down by 20% in the past 10 trading days. Yet President
Bush says "we are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal". Does anyone listen to him? Will anyone believe him? Perhaps his shadow will. Not even his body language suggests he believes it himself. The $700 billion bailout isn't working, confidence has not been restored, and the national debt could rise to $11 trillion due to the bailout. Perhaps the belief that America's resources are inexhaustible should be re-thought. The truth could be that all these immensity is just hype because if it's there, why has it not been harnessed? Sarah Palin suggests extracting the oil in Alaska will answer the energy problem - a gross miscalculation or outright imbecility - because even if it is all taken out, it would last only 18 months.
The G-7 Finance Ministers are to meet in Washington later to find a solution to the global crisis, because nothing is working, and those tried earlier are apparently failing. What tools the US has at its disposal only President Bush knows. How he knows it will work or whether it can be operable is unbelievable based on his established (in)credibility and brain capacity. Meanwhile, John McSame is in another time zone, addressing his audience as "my fellow prisoners". He is confused about which war he is facing or perhaps is at war with his memory. America and the world could be collapsing all around him but he would still be focused on Barack Obama's terrorist association, which is flimsy at best, a canard at worst.
The best news of the week is that according to Douglas Durst, son of the deceased
inventor of the digital debt clock, the structure would be replaced early next year and will be made lengthier to accomodate 1 quadrillion dollars. At least, the US government can rack up $989 trillion more debts and it would still be recorded. That is, if there's any government left to be held accountable. Everyone could be talking Mandarin or Fookienese by then.
Haaaarrrwwwwwwk...Twooooooooph...Ting!
President George Bush goes on national television to say that the crisis was "deeply unsettling" for Americans. That could be the understatement of the year. Why he excluded the rest of the globe is perhaps due to the limits of his imagination. Stock markets worldwide are going crazy, rising then dropping in a
confused stupor. Traders and brokers are losing their minds, their shirts and their pants trading in an unpredictable and uncontrollable situation. Iceland has gone bankrupt, and trading had to be suspended in several bourses globally. Japan's biggest insurance firm Yamato Life is already dead. Burial announcements to follow.Wall Street's value has gone down by 20% in the past 10 trading days. Yet President
Bush says "we are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal". Does anyone listen to him? Will anyone believe him? Perhaps his shadow will. Not even his body language suggests he believes it himself. The $700 billion bailout isn't working, confidence has not been restored, and the national debt could rise to $11 trillion due to the bailout. Perhaps the belief that America's resources are inexhaustible should be re-thought. The truth could be that all these immensity is just hype because if it's there, why has it not been harnessed? Sarah Palin suggests extracting the oil in Alaska will answer the energy problem - a gross miscalculation or outright imbecility - because even if it is all taken out, it would last only 18 months.
The G-7 Finance Ministers are to meet in Washington later to find a solution to the global crisis, because nothing is working, and those tried earlier are apparently failing. What tools the US has at its disposal only President Bush knows. How he knows it will work or whether it can be operable is unbelievable based on his established (in)credibility and brain capacity. Meanwhile, John McSame is in another time zone, addressing his audience as "my fellow prisoners". He is confused about which war he is facing or perhaps is at war with his memory. America and the world could be collapsing all around him but he would still be focused on Barack Obama's terrorist association, which is flimsy at best, a canard at worst.
The best news of the week is that according to Douglas Durst, son of the deceased
inventor of the digital debt clock, the structure would be replaced early next year and will be made lengthier to accomodate 1 quadrillion dollars. At least, the US government can rack up $989 trillion more debts and it would still be recorded. That is, if there's any government left to be held accountable. Everyone could be talking Mandarin or Fookienese by then.Haaaarrrwwwwwwk...Twooooooooph...Ting!
11 comments:
what a mess Durano!!!
it seems that the powers that be are all wearing rose tinted glasses..and sticking their heads in the sand...
I had to laugh at your humourous insights...
the situation reads like slapstick comedy...
Mandarin or Fookienese...lol....you could be right there ;) :)
It is devastating what is happening now, not only to one of the most prosperous country in the world, but also globally, but we have an edge over them,lol.
And you know what it is? we are used to poverty, and we are able to take these all with a grain of salt and plenty of humor and laughter.
People who were never exposed to abject poverty would be the hardest hit. May God give them all strength to endure. I pray for all of us.
Very brilliantly written Durano, with wit and biting sarcasm.
Would you say then that putting up Chinese language schools in the US could be a profitable long-term business venture?
The clock isn't the only one losing it...
Quadrillion? I don't even know what is it and I certainly can't imagine how big of a debt it is!
Hello Kim,
That's a very apt description of what these "leaders" have been doing and the results they have received, like slapstick comedy, LOL!
It seems like they were the Keystone cops falling all over themselves, or headless chickens running crazy over a pile of snakes in cartoons of old.
If the debt gets to a quadrillion, they would have been foreclosed by China already. :-) --Durano, done!
Hi Jenaisle,
Being poor may provide us some insulation from unaccomplished expectations, but I would not consider it an edge. Getting used to poverty will make our people look old beyond their years and could lead to an early demise.:-)
I subscribe to the fact that there's no shame in being poor, but it's not a great honor either.:-)
We will be affected too; remittances will be lower and jobs abroad, especially on services, could be scarce. Those that enjoyed a little prosperity among millions of families in the country who have relatives working abroad will be hit. I'm with you in praying for them. :-) --Durano, done!
Hi Anonymous,
It could very well be a profitable venture to put up Chinese Language Schools in the US, but don't hurry yet, they are down but not out. The resilience of the American people have been proven over time in many instances and events. They have the uncanny knack for coming together and coming out stronger.
For as long as that spirit remains in their national psyche', and I wish it does, they will rise above this crisis but the advantage of being the sole superpower may no longer be theirs to claim. Power sharing with other nations will be the result of this crisis. :-) --Durano, done!
Hi Zhu,
It's not just the clock, you're right, it's the entire free market system as only they can practice and implement that brought them to this predicament. The impunity with which certain sectors with unabashed greed salivated over spurious profits did them in.
One quadrillion is equal to a thousand trillion dollars. :-) --Durano, done!
thanks for the heads up.
Hi Development Website etc.,
You're welcome. Just don't leave any cookies or spyware, okay? :-) --Durano, done!
Post a Comment