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My Fav Cartoon

I was just about to post my favourite cartoon on that Crispen thread when it disappeared, well here it is anyway, whoever said 'a picture paints a thousand words' must have been referring to this.

net-worth-bank-loan-student-loan-credit-card-car-l1.jpg
'Just think for a moment what a prospect that is. A single market without barriers visible or invisible giving you direct and unhindered access to the purchasing power of over 300 million of the worlds wealthiest and most prosperous people' Margaret Thatcher

Comments

  • Heyman_2
    Heyman_2 Posts: 1,819 Forumite
    Great cartoon - I guess you've not had any actual thread response yet because the picture kind of says it all!
  • Loughton_Monkey
    Loughton_Monkey Posts: 8,913 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker Hung up my suit!
    Ironically, an awful lot of truth behind the 'joke'.
  • MacMickster
    MacMickster Posts: 3,646 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Think of this in terms of nations rather than individuals.

    Rightly or wrongly, as long as their deficit is not too large for them to be unable to service their debts, it is far better position to be in to be the indebted advanced society rather than the banana republic.

    What is missing from the cartoon however is the high net worth individual/nation who is clearly in the best position of all.
    "When the people fear the government there is tyranny, when the government fears the people there is liberty." - Thomas Jefferson
  • Generali
    Generali Posts: 36,411 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Think of this in terms of nations rather than individuals.

    Rightly or wrongly, as long as their deficit is not too large for them to be unable to service their debts, it is far better position to be in to be the indebted advanced society rather than the banana republic.

    What is missing from the cartoon however is the high net worth individual/nation who is clearly in the best position of all.

    AIUI, the longest period of Greece's history as a nation state she spent not in default on her debts was during the fascist period when she was unable to borrow.
  • nicko33
    nicko33 Posts: 1,125 Forumite
    Ironically, an awful lot of truth behind the 'joke'.
    half-truth
  • dtsazza
    dtsazza Posts: 6,295 Forumite
    nicko33 wrote: »
    half-truth
    Ay...

    It definitely makes a good point. However, the net worth is a static/snapshot measurement at this point in time; the arguably even more important component is future income streams. (In fact, the only reason why these people can be indebted to an entity is because the entity believes, rightly or wrongly, that they'll bring in sufficient income over the term to easily cover the principal + interest.)

    Admittedly we have swung far too much the other way, in that we tend to focus only on future income, and spend it several times over before it's been realised. Looking more pointedly at net worth calculations would be productive in many cases; especially as the only "good" debts are ones which are an investment, rather than pure consumption.

    Still - looking solely at it is as useless as ignoring it completely. :)
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