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Why are Americans so in love with big government?
The US really ought to get on the bandwagon here. It's better to allow your citizens to spend their own money than it is to spend it for them.
Discuss.
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The US really ought to get on the bandwagon here. It's better to allow your citizens to spend their own money than it is to spend it for them.
Discuss.12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio Regum -
Those figures aren't right for the US (about 4 or 5 percentage points too high). Don't know about Canada.
But it's true that the US government's spending as a share of economic activity is at post-war highs. This is very disheartening for me.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891 -
Come to the Great White North: home of low spending and balanced budgets.12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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Yes, they are.Originally posted by DanS View Post12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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By the way, they include spending by ALL levels of government. Federal, state and local. And the same for Canada.
12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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No, they aren't. Perhaps they inadvertently aren't subtracting out federal grants to the states.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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I'd like to see your source.
12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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Sure. The government spending at all levels ($4.99 trillion) is found at line 33 of NIPA Table 3.1.
The GDP figure ($14.26 trillion) is found at line 1 of NIPA Table 1.1.5.
This yields a 35% figure rather than the ~ 40% figure given above.
2009 should be in the 36% - 37% range, a post-war high.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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gives total us government spending as 5.29 tr in 2008 while I'm using 14.33 tr as US GDP for 2008
that gives 36.9%, which is exactly what my graph shows.12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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It should be noted that I wholeheartedly agree that Canada has done very well on this score over the last 10-15 years. There is a stark difference between the Canada and the US.I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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Well, flat out, both of those numbers are wrong. Sorry.Originally posted by KrazyHorse View PostI came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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Even using your figures I see a discrepancy of at most 3%, not 5%
Either way, you guys are about to surpass us in terms of spending as a % of GDP
12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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I remember the 7 years of government cuts that got us from ~53% to ~40% of GDP. Those were not pleasant years.
Don't make the mistake we did...12-17-10 Mohamed Bouazizi NEVER FORGET
Stadtluft Macht Frei
Killing it is the new killing it
Ultima Ratio RegumComment
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Fvck you, KrazyHorse.
I wish you were wrong about the different tracks taken, but fvck you.
I came upon a barroom full of bad Salon pictures in which men with hats on the backs of their heads were wolfing food from a counter. It was the institution of the "free lunch" I had struck. You paid for a drink and got as much as you wanted to eat. For something less than a rupee a day a man can feed himself sumptuously in San Francisco, even though he be a bankrupt. Remember this if ever you are stranded in these parts. ~ Rudyard Kipling, 1891Comment
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Canada's doing better because of oil revenues. Let's see what happens now that oil has fallen.Christianity: The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree...Comment
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