Total Government Debt Worldwide is Not Balanced with Natures Bottom Line

http://www.economist.com/content/global_debt_clock

According to the Economist magazine (UK), total government debt across the planet is: $39,849,361,860,642 (39.8 trillion). This is in the trillions, reflect on the amount. When you look at this site again it will be much higher, as debt is exponential. I was reading in the Brisbane Courier Mail US Government debt reaching $US14.6 billion, this was confirmed by official statistics. Therefore, United States debt as a ratio to the total combined debt of all governments is 36.7% of all world debt. If we look at the US Government debt (total gross public debt) as percentage of GDP (domestic economic activity) the figure is 82.29%. So it is a highly indebted nation. Hence extrapolating that idea out, people are living beyond their needs, such is the success of the marketing and profit maximisation as incentives to accumulate or produce more. The planet cannot sustain such debt levels and in truth the real change will occur within societies when we realise we are feeding an addiction as we feel dissatisfied. It is this dissatisfaction that is the real issue worldwide. The capitalist system holds out the incentives to work, earn money and accumulate material things with the objective of success and thus happiness. In truth, real happiness comes from within, it emerges from knowing yourself and living in alignment with what makes you happy. The often least discussed areas of human life such as community, sharing, caring, self actualisation and reaching potential through following what we feel inspired to do or be. This is not a thinking statement of what we are told we should aim for but what we have always known we wanted. So what we do becomes a reflection of what we love rather than the objective of money to then have happiness.

When we face financial crisis to find those things we expect to be there, are no longer available, psychologically this will represent a huge shift in our reality. To-date, those of us in the Western/prosperous economies are accustomed to having what we want when we want. The price we paid was a loss of meaning replaced by accumulation. Those in the poorer countries scrape by to attain material things but have a greater sense of what is important e.g. family and community.

This is what the Economist says about the debt clock.

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.

In 10 minutes the time I’ve been writing, the debt clock has reached $42,637,111,956,156. That is how fast debt compounds. It is not a fixed rate of debt. The more debt the more it must be financed by taxes, the more money we must make economically to service it, the more we are locked into a system that destroys the natural world.

The real harmony comes when need equals want. Where we are satisfied with enough without needing more to fill gaps. We must look into what brings us peace. It is the most important issue of our time and why this blog has been created. It is the key to living in harmony with the planet and finding peace. This is the meaning of peace on earth, it is for us to focus there, not on the money. Life is abundant as has been my experience, life has a magic that many don’t see as they are living in routines that are unquestioned. When you start to live your life in the flow, amazing things come to you and what I have found is life itself supports you. It is an inner security I am finding and it is bringing me great peace.

Have a peaceful day and try not to add to the burden of debt. Just buy what you can afford. I also have a debt, but will get rid of it and accumulate no more. I will be giving away all my things very soon and just having what I need. Feels good to lighten up, perhaps this is enlightenment for the planet.

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Mohandas Gandhi

“God has no religion”

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