Obama’s neoliberal wrecking crew destroys domestic and global economy – turns to tax payers to fund economic recovery for the wealthy

US Economy lost , Debt more than its GDP, Apple has more cash than US Govt
August 4, 2011 – Written by jafrianews

JNN 03 Aug 2011 : The US Department of the Treasury says the country’s debt has topped 100 percent of its gross domestic product amid concerns over the slow pace of economic recovery.

Washington’s gross debt rocketed $238 billion on Tuesday to reach 100 percent of its GDP immediately after US President Barack Obama signed into law the congress legislation to raise the country’s borrowing ceiling, AFP reported on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Obama voted in favor of a controversial bipartisan plan to raise the debt ceiling of the United States in exchange for spending cuts, just hours before the first ever default in US history.

The US Treasury figures show the new borrowing has increased Washington’s total public debt to $14.58 trillion, which stands higher than the end of 2010 GDP of $14.53 trillion.

It has also put the US within a coterie of countries whose public debt exceeds their GDP, including Japan (229 percent), Greece (152 percent), Lebanon (134 percent), Italy (120 percent), and Ireland (114 percent).

According to the default-preventing compromise bill, the US debt ceiling was raised by $2.4 trillion, to reach a total of $16.7 trillion.

With its colossal debt topping its GDP, the United States is now also within the group of highly indebted countries like Italy and Belgium.

The last time America’s debt surpassed the size of its annual economy was in 1947, two years after the end of World War II.

Credit ratings agencies such as Moody’s Investors Service, have warned Washington to reduce its debt-to-GDP ratio quickly, otherwise it may face losing its triple A rating.

Figures from the US Treasury Department have indicated that Apple Inc. has more cash to spend than the government of the United States.
The latest report of the United States Treasury on cash and debt operations put the country’s cash balance at $73.7 billion, but Apple’s reserves are currently $76.4 billion, the state-run BBC reported on Friday.

The United States is currently spending around $200 billion more than it collects in revenue every month.

However, Apple’s market is growing at a tremendous rate. For example, in the three-month period ending on June 25, its net income was 125 percent higher than the same period in the previous year.

The US debt ceiling is currently capped at $14.3 trillion, up from $10.6 trillion when President Barack Obama took office in 2009, and the administration says that if it is not elevated by August 2, the government will default on its obligations.

But, economists say that if the United States refuses to increase its debt limit, it could be devastating for the US and other economies around the world.

Although US lawmakers are engaged in heated arguments on whether to cut spending for public services, such as education and elderly healthcare, increase taxes, or raise the borrowing level, they continue to authorize the US government to spend tens of billions of dollars for military interventions in other countries. …source