Just comming up on $40T

[TOM4CWB]

The clock is ticking. Every second, it seems, someone in the world takes on more debt. The idea of a debt clock for an individual nation is familiar to anyone who has been to Times Square in New York, where the American public shortfall is revealed. Our clock shows the global figure for all (or almost all) government debts in dollar terms.

Does it matter? After all, world governments owe the money to their own citizens, not to the Martians. But the rising total is important for two reasons. First, when debt rises faster than economic output (as it has been doing in recent years), higher government debt implies more state interference in the economy and higher taxes in the future. Second, debt must be rolled over at regular intervals. This creates a recurring popularity test for individual governments, rather as reality TV show contestants face a public phone vote every week. Fail that vote, as the Greek government did in early 2010, and the country can be plunged into imminent crisis. So the higher the global government debt total, the greater the risk of fiscal crisis, and the bigger the economic impact such crises will have.

http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock?page=2

[Braveheart]

This is for me the scariest and hardest to quantify "new" fundamental in commodity markets. At what point will some gov't interfere in food prices to keep inflation low and public unrest at bay?

I don't worry about things till they happen and then adapt. But I do like to have contingency plans in place. Our ranch is trying to keep our debt levels at what we can cover in the worst times. Hopefully they never come, but I can sleep at night.

[TOM4CWB]

Braveheart,

Very true.

Here is an interesting perspective on where we are going!

'China India and Asia’ Category


China is World's Largest Energy Consumer

Wednesday, June 15th, 2011




World consumption of energy has increased 5.6 percent in 2010, according to BP’s Statistical Review of World Energy. This is the largest increase since 1973, which happened to be a memorable year in energy history. At the time, the U.S. was by far the largest consumer of energy, devouring 1,812 million tons of oil equivalent (mtoe)—more than 30 percent of the world’s total—as the country faced an energy crisis, oil embargo and record high oil prices..

In 2010, another pivotal moment occurred in energy history: The country consuming most of the world’s energy was no longer the U.S., but China..

China’s energy consumption rate grew 11.2 percent from the previous year, pushing the country’s total to 20 percent of global energy consumption. At 2,432 mtoe, China just beat out the U.S. (2,286 mtoe) for the top spot. China’s energy consumption in 2010 was more than double what it was in 2000..

Oil may be the first thing that jumps to mind when you think of energy usage, but coal is actually what powers China’s economy. Coal accounts for roughly 71 percent of China’s total energy use and consumption of coal has shot up 180 percent since 2000 (Read: Coal Use Shines Light on Growth)..

China’s rise to the top of the energy pyramid isn’t surprising given China’s growth trend in recent years. The country already holds several “No. 1” positions: China has been the largest producer and consumer of coal and steel in the world. China replaced the U.S. as the world’s largest automobile market after 2009 vehicle sales skyrocketed in the country. And for the first time in 2010, the demand for gold in China was so strong, it outpaced the combined total of the developed West, which includes all of the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the U.K. and other European countries..

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What is surprising is that the trend of rising energy consumption has only just begun, when you compare China’s energy use on a per capita basis to other industrialized nations. In the early years of industrialization, the U.S., Japan and Germany consumed an accelerating amount of energy per person before leveling off. South Korea, whose path many think China will follow, saw its per capita energy usage increase five-fold in less than two decades as the country industrialized..

Despite its growth, China isn’t there yet. Although the country’s per capita consumption has begun climbing upward at a steeper pace around 2005, there is still a rather large gap to close before reaching developed world levels..

But it’s possible. Mix together China’s rising income levels, the government’s social housing plan, and an aggressive transportation effort that will link 700 million people across more than 250 cities, and we could see the next phase of China’s industrialization take shape over the next decade. Regardless, China will likely consume a record level of energy and commodities for the foreseeable future and this keeps us long-term bullish across the whole natural resources spectrum..
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Read more: http://advisoranalyst.com/glablog/category/china-india-asia/#ixzz1TnVtDUgQ

[TOM4CWB]

Soooo...

China could care less about 'Global Warming' and burns coal. How is India any different.

The US/EU is spending money... as is Canada indirectly... on mitigating 'Climate Change'...

While India, Russia, and China laugh all the way to the bank!

[checking]

I believe there should be an app designed to show where each individual's debt clock stands, and you be required to look at it daily. Expecting your governments to be fiscal managers when you can't is too much of an expectation. It is, afterall, ..we, the people..