The relief effort in Haiti continues with the United States at the forefront. A recent news story got me to thinking about how countries get labeled “rich” or “poor.”
The article focused on how “rich” countries, such as the United States, bear the burden of doing more to help countries such as Haiti when trouble strikes. I wondered how someone could conclude that a country in excess of $11 trillion in debt deserves to fall into the “rich” category.
So, I did some poking around to get a sense of the “rich” and “poor” countries in the world, some of which I share with you in the Resources portion of this blog.
- One source ranked the U.S. in 2009 as No. 66 out of 125 countries with regard to its public debt as a percentage of gross domestic product with No. 125 ranked as the least percentage. The U.S. percentage was 39.7 percent then. The makes the U.S. “middle class” from my vantage point.
- Another source ranks the U.S. No. 1 in debt in real dollars ($13.4 trillion as of June 2009). I think that makes us very “poor.”
In the history of the world, no country has poured more money and resources into helping other countries rebuild, from everything from war to natural disasters, than the United States. That attests to the richness of the American spirit derived from its democratic heritage and appreciation for sharing with others less fortunate.
But I wonder how long we can sustain that kind of “richness” when the economic reality our country faces paints a much different picture.
Do you wonder about that, too?
Resources:
- http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/20/world/americas/20debt.html
- www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressrelease/2009-11-06/...
- http://current.com/1cad44c
- www.economicshelp.org/blog/economics/list/...
- www.nationmaster.com/graph/eco_deb_ext-economy/...
- www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/...
- web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/...
- www.visualeconomics.com/gdp-vs-national-debt-by-country
In fact, passing a law that provides health care for all can actually make health care more expensive. The number of doctors and hospitals remains constant yet the number of patients will now grow. Supply and demand causes the prices in situations like this to increase. Basic economics.
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