Saw this on Digg, where people were whipping themselves into an outrage about how unfair life is, how capitalism is broken, etc.
Except this graphic is totally flawed.
Comparing annual income to total debt is apples to oranges. Suppose I make $50,000 a year and owe $250,000 on my mortgage. Is this necessarily a Bad Thing? No. Here’s why:
This comparison completely neglects the other side of the household balance sheet - assets. You borrowed $250,000 on that mortgage to buy the house, so you also own an asset (the home) worth $250,000 (putting aside the housing crash for a second). You also have likely saved some of your income each year, which is building up as an asset in your bank account. Both of these assets can be liquidated to eliminate the debt.
Another scenario - say you make $50,000 and have $100,000 in various debts. Is that a bad thing? Not if you have $200,000 saved in the bank. You can easily pay off your debt in this situation. The debt is only dangerous if it is not matched by an asset of equal or greater value.
In addition, the diagram assumes you never use any of the income you earn in the time between each bar (several years) to pay down any of the debt, yet you continue to borrow. If that’s the case, the prison is of your own making.
I could go all day, but the bottom line is, this is a completely flawed comparison.
Debt is not inherently a Bad Thing. Irresponsible debt (debt that is not counterbalanced by assets) is a Bad Thing.
Big fan of this new BustedTee.I think its great how subtle this is.
I maintain that Calvin & Hobbes is the best comic strip ever drawn.
sds:
Alister McGrath - A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology
Want.
In this landmark work, based on his 2009 Gifford lectures, Alister McGrath examines the apparent “fine-tuning” of the universe and its significance for natural theology. Exploring a wide range of physical and biological phenomena and drawing on the latest research in biochemistry and evolutionary biology, McGrath outlines our new understanding of the natural world and discusses its implications for traditional debates about the existence of God.
Sounds very interesting. Adding to my reading list.
HP releases iPhone versions of classic calculators | Macworld
I just bought this app. I loved my old HP12c & RPN.
What a cool fusion of old and new.
Best Web Analytics Software?
To all the webmasters out there, please help me out.
I’ve used Google Analytics before, but am not really satisfied with the way it presents the data. Are there any other comparable free analytics platforms that will track search engine traffic and allow me to see how people move through my site?
Taylor Swift - Thug Story Feat T Pain
Holy shit, this is actually Taylor Swift, rapping with T Pain. Apparently this was taped for the CMA Awards.
Joe Weisenthal on Glen Beck. Normally (never) a Glen Beck fan, but this is a really interesting story, and cool to see Joe on TV.
Summary: Two men were caught with $134 BILLION of U.S. Treasury Bonds at the Italian border, heading into Switzerland. To give you an idea of the magnitude of that number, here are the top 6 total U.S. bondholders in the world, and the amounts they hold. Which one of these things does not belong?
- China - $763.5 billion
- Japan - $685.9 billion
- United Kingdom - $152.8 billion
- Russia - $137.0 billion
- THESE GUYS ON THE ITALIAN BORDER - $134 billion
- Brazil - $126.0 billion
If the bonds are fake, it points to the existence of a MASSIVE and sophisticated counterfeiting operation, the likes of which has never been seen. If the bonds are real, it suggests that a major world power is trying to SECRETLY liquidate a substantial portion of their dollar-denominated assets.
Either possibility is intriguing, and the fact that the men have been in custody for almost a day with no official word on the veracity of the bonds is more intriguing still.
jaie:
Think Progress » Newsweek’s latest cover, by geographical region:
Typical America unfortunately. Can you blame Newsweek though? They’re only running what they know will sell.
Jack’s Mannequin - Swim
From their newest album “The Glass Passenger”.
