I read this again and my answer is the same - as long as earnings improve then the ratio remains the same. In the case of many corporate refinancings or mortgage refinancings there is usually a considerable improvement in current ratios because of the ability to pay off more principal. I recognize that stupid people and stupid companies will not proceed that way but that's an exception. The rule is to not do so and good companies and wise individuals are not :)
I read this again and my answer is the same - as long as earnings improve then the ratio remains the same.
Earnings haven't been keeping up, and that is precisely what the graph shows. The ratio is climbing. In 1984 debt was ~160% of earnings, by 1990 debt had climbed to 240% of earnings, now it's ~300% of earnings. You realize this growth can't go on forever, it's only by manipulating the credit markets (and blatant threat to continue pumping money into the market) that this much debt has been carried this far.
I recognize that stupid people and stupid companies will not proceed that way but that's an exception. The rule is to not do so and good companies and wise individuals are not :)
"Who makes up the majority in any country--the intelligent, or the stupid? I think we've got to agree that, all over this whole wide earth, the stupid are in a fearsomely overpowering majority."-Henrik Ibsen, An Enemy of the People ;)