"Do you understand the difference between debt and unfunded liabilities?"....
Of course I do...but for the purpose of this thread...the numbers and expectations of the Federal Gov'mt as defined by those numbers, define exactly for all of us Americans what the world expects of us...We have the luxury of some 4-5 trillion in immediate debt with the expectation of such further benefits only to the extent we will shoulder a variety of responsiblities and expectations the world has of us. Buchanan's atttitudes are suicidal in the face of all this...
Why would the rest of the world care if we dissolved social security thereby eliminating a large chunk of our unfunded liabilities? Our annual national debt is just 2% of GDP. This is lower than the 2.7% it has averaged for many decades. Our total debt to GDP is about 69%. This is much less than Japan's 170%.
I think the world expects us to be able to pay our debts which is why so much money continues to flow our way. I agree that PJB's attitudes are suicidal but the charts Hodges posted don't tell the whole story. He does this on purpose to stoke the fires of doom and gloom.