THE LAST DITCH

Map Of The Day: Awesome Visualization Of Global Debt Levels.

Debt-map

(click to enlarge)

In the General Election campaign, no mainstream party is talking about debt reduction. They only speak (unconvincingly) of reducing the deficit (i.e. the rate at which we are going into debt). We are falling off a cliff and they are debating whether to spread our limbs to try to slow the descent.

This graphic from Business Insider shows the countries of the word resized according to national debt as a percentage of GDP. Only if nostalgic for the days when Mark Twain could have Tom Sawyer tell Huck Finn;

Why, look at England. It's
the most important country in
the world; and yet you could put it
in China's vest-pocket; and not only
that, but you'd have the
dickens's own time to find it again the next
time you wanted it.

could anyone enjoy the size of our small islands on that map. More than anything else, it reminds me of a long ago graphic showing the parts of the male body resized according to how conscious men were of them. You can imagine what part that makes Britain.

Politicians think they can't speak of the biggest issue facing us without slumping in the polls. They think the people don't know (or want to know) that they are close to beggary. That's cowardice to the point of treachery. Labour, the Conservatives and even the Liberal Democrats (who could speak all the truth they liked without affecting their chances) are effectively waiting for the problem to escalate until the markets refuse to lend. Their plan then is to side with those fools who curse the bailiff's men for the consequences of their own profligacy.

Edifying, isn't it?

h/t The UK News Network

6 responses to “The true scale of our problem”

  1. Suboptimalplanet.blogspot.com Avatar

    Interesting visualisation. I’d like to read more about how they created it.
    I’m surprised at how large the UK is relative to the US. Are the figures for total public dept, or just national government debt? If the latter, we’re comparing apples and oranges; many states in the US have large debts of their own.
    My other concern is with the colouring, which reflects debt/GDP. GDP is a spectacularly bad measure of wealth, and it’s especially misleading in this context because it includes government spending. With sufficient borrowing and spending, Gordon could take us from from red to yellow!

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  2. john miller Avatar
    john miller

    Really, Cameron is profoundly illustrating that peculiar mix of blind optimism and denial that seems to be the central tenet to all modern political philosophy.
    Were I in his shoes, I would declare the scale of the problem and the horrific measures needed to solve it. If my party dipped in the polls, so be it. I would, uniquely, have established a reputation for honesty and integrity. If Labour went on to win the election, then they would be obliterated as a political movement for a generation, after the IMF were called in.
    If I were to dissemble and win a small mjority in the Commons, then you can be sure that I would face revolt from all the unions immediately and revolt from the public as soon as I dared implement the necessary measures I had been too scared to speak of before the election. Yet if I do nothing, the IMF arrive on my doorstep.
    When a vote of no confidence removes me and my party from government, Brown re-enters the stage covered in glory. Any problems he encounters in the future are blamed squarely on my pitiful few months in power.
    It really is unbeleivable that Cameron cannot see that if he does not tell the truth, he will doom himself and his party to oblivion within a few months of his winning the election.

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  3. Amanda Avatar
    Amanda

    Nice post John

    Like

  4. john miller Avatar
    john miller

    Thank you.

    Like

  5. Demetrius Avatar

    At last!!! We have put the “Great” back into “Great Britain”!!! Open the White Cider, James, and pass me the mephedrone.

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  6. marksany Avatar

    Excellent point John. Cameron should be playing a longer game.

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Tom is a retired international lawyer. He was a partner in a City of London law firm and spent almost twenty years abroad serving clients from all over the world.

Returning to London on retirement in 2011, he was dismayed to discover how much liberty had been lost in the UK while he was away.

He’s a classical liberal (libertarian, if you must) who, like his illustrious namesake, considers that

“…government even in its best state is but a necessary evil; in its worst state an intolerable one.”

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