America's debt to income ratio as compared with other countries.
We are all feeling the crunch of the economy and receiving the news of businesses folding, cutting back on spending, hiring freezes, crazy bonuses, government bailouts, and complete countries going bankrupt but how much of this is the reality of the state of our economy as a whole and how much is an excuse to clean house. I can remember a similar scenario happened a couple of years back when the music industry claimed war against the very people who support them, there customers. If you looked at the actual numbers of record sales on a whole it hadn't changed one bit, in fact sales have been on a steady incline since the 90′s. But they claimed they were not making profit because of p2p downloads. In reality the reason why they were not making profit was the because of large payouts to record execs while the artists starved, literally. Why would the record companies claim war and the end of days? Simply has an excuse to clean house and to capitalize on an online revenue stream that they weren't prepared for.
Every once and a while a person comes forth and changes the way we see the world. Einstein for example completely changed the way we view the world over night. I read somewhere recently that a weeks worth of the New York Times contains more information a person was likely to come across in a lifetime in the 18th century. I believe what we are seeing is not a recession but a global paradigm shift or accelerating change increase in the rate of technological, social, cultural, economic growth. The objective is the same but the model of how we live our lives has changed. Conspiracy theorist talk about the end of days, meanwhile right underneath are noses the ways we have lived our lives has ended and it is time for the next chapter to begin.
If 5 years ago I were to look at wikipedia as a business venture my first question might be, it's a great idea but how is it going to make money? It would sound pretty dumb to ask that question today right? The same question must be asked in reverse of industries that we once thought of as the foundations of innovation. This is most prevalent when you see old industries die one by one, banking, automotive, insurance, etc. These industries and old way of doing things simply cannot exist in this new economy, and innovation.
So how do you stay ahead in a world that is so rapidly changing you might ask? The answer, clean house, get back to basics and innovate. People forget that having a good product or service is at the top of the list of to do's. Marketing and social networking will only take you so far. Facebook likes and a web 2.0 website will not save you. Have a good product or service, sell it for a reasonable price, have great customer service and innovate. Always improve on these 3 areas and you will be happy and successful. So let me ease your mind a little.
While it is true the United States and it's citizens borrow too much, we are still ahead of the curve. We all love statistics and when it comes to comparing ourselves to others there is nothing we like better than to be better. While things are changing for us they are also changing for the rest of the world and how we fare is not just fair but very good. When statistics about the US economy are presented in comparison with those of other developed (or wealthy) nations, many would be surprised by the outcome.
According to The International Monetary Fund and it's financial eeport, the 10 wealthiest nations in the world (in terms of GDP) were:
GDP IN U.S. BILLIONS:
United States: 13,844
Japan: 4,384
Germany: 3,322
China: 3,251
United Kingdom: 2,773
France: 2,560
Italy: 2,105
Spain: 1,439
Canada: 1,432
Brazil: 1,314
The countries above are probably ones that come to mind when you think of the wealthiest so it will not be a big surprise that the ones that make the most also spend the most. According to the world CIA factbook the top ten countries with the most external debt are as follows.
EXTERNAL DEBT IN U.S. BILLIONS:
United States: 12,250
United Kingdom: 10,450
Germany: 4,849
France: 4,396
Italy: 2,345
Nederlands: 2,277
Spain: 2,047
Ireland: 1,841
Japan: 1,492
Switzerland: 1,340
Japan has the highest positive income at US $2,892 Billion. Similarly, the US economy is $1,594 Billion. At the other side of the spectrum, Great Britain's income to debt ratio is a US -$7,677 Billion, and that of France is -$1,890 Billion. But what do these statistics mean on an individual level? Well, if you were to boil down what each person in this country contributed to the nation's income vs. debt ratio, the results would be startling. We would have to take into consideration the nation's population to better understand this. And some may be surprised to see that the US does not fare quite as bad as imagined, comparatively. (Notice the - minus symbols as a negative.)
EFFECTIVE NET WORTH PER CITIZEN
Japan 127M: +22,772
United States 305M: +5,226
United Kingdom 61M: -125,852
Germany 82M: -14,232
France 64M: -29,531
Italy 60M: - 4,000
Spain 45M: -13,511
In Great Britain they are basically breaking even. They Make money but have easy access to credit and spend it all. In other European countries they have expensive labor, exports and currency, a small population with high tax and huge welfare programs. Japan high income and does not consume as much as the United States.
Although there are many factors that go into economics these basic numbers don't lie and should give people residing in the U.S. some piece of mind that the sky is not falling. Even though we all still feel the crunch, it is not because we are not producing and our country poor it is simply a matter of an increase in the rate of technological, social, cultural, economic growth and a little house cleaning.
Aaron Parsons is an award winning Creative Director, Web Developer and Internet Artist based in Los Angeles, CA that specializes in the music, entertainment and fashion industries.
Aaron is best known for his printed and internet works with Bands and Recording Artist such as M.I.A., The Ting Tings, Sleighbells and for major labels such as Interscope Records, Roc Nation, Sony Music, and N.E.E.T. Recordings.
Aaron believes in bringing out the uniqueness and authenticity with everyone he works with. "The social web responds to honesty in whatever form it is expressed". This philosophy has made him a staple in the music and fashion industries design circle.
For more information please visit http://aaronparsons.com or http://nurv.nu
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