• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EST 03:32
CET 09:32
KST 17:32
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info3herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational14SC2 All-Star Invitational: Tournament Preview5RSL Revival - 2025 Season Finals Preview8RSL Season 3 - Playoffs Preview0
Community News
Weekly Cups (Jan 19-25): Bunny, Trigger, MaxPax win3Weekly Cups (Jan 12-18): herO, MaxPax, Solar win0BSL Season 2025 - Full Overview and Conclusion8Weekly Cups (Jan 5-11): Clem wins big offline, Trigger upsets4$21,000 Rongyi Cup Season 3 announced (Jan 22-Feb 7)35
StarCraft 2
General
Weekly Cups (Jan 19-25): Bunny, Trigger, MaxPax win StarCraft 2 not at the Esports World Cup 2026 Oliveira Would Have Returned If EWC Continued herO wins SC2 All-Star Invitational PhD study /w SC2 - help with a survey!
Tourneys
$21,000 Rongyi Cup Season 3 announced (Jan 22-Feb 7) OSC Season 13 World Championship $70 Prize Pool Ladder Legends Academy Weekly Open! SC2 All-Star Invitational: Jan 17-18 Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament
Strategy
Simple Questions Simple Answers
Custom Maps
[A] Starcraft Sound Mod
External Content
Mutation # 510 Safety Violation Mutation # 509 Doomsday Report Mutation # 508 Violent Night Mutation # 507 Well Trained
Brood War
General
[ASL21] Potential Map Candidates BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Which foreign pros are considered the best? Gypsy to Korea
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues Small VOD Thread 2.0 Azhi's Colosseum - Season 2 [BSL21] Non-Korean Championship - Starts Jan 10
Strategy
Current Meta Simple Questions, Simple Answers Soma's 9 hatch build from ASL Game 2 Game Theory for Starcraft
Other Games
General Games
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Nintendo Switch Thread Beyond All Reason Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread YouTube Thread European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club! The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
Anime Discussion Thread [Manga] One Piece
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
How Esports Advertising Shap…
TrAiDoS
My 2025 Magic: The Gathering…
DARKING
Life Update and thoughts.
FuDDx
How do archons sleep?
8882
James Bond movies ranking - pa…
Topin
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1142 users

Macroeconomics

Blogs > Biochemist
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
Biochemist
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
United States1008 Posts
May 16 2010 07:37 GMT
#1
[image loading]

I've never had an economics class and from how fractured the field seems to be I probably shouldn't trust what I would learn in one anyway.

Can someone explain to me how it's possible for virtually the entire world to be in debt at the same time, like broken down Barney style? Who is everyone borrowing from, if nobody has wealth to give?

*
iamho
Profile Joined June 2009
United States3347 Posts
May 16 2010 07:39 GMT
#2
they all borrow from each other, national debt does not subtract loans you give to other countries
jalstar
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
United States8198 Posts
May 16 2010 07:40 GMT
#3
China.
Weasel-
Profile Joined June 2009
Canada1556 Posts
May 16 2010 07:42 GMT
#4
Yeah but what he's wondering and what I'm wondering is why doesn't most of it cancel out?
Biochemist
Profile Blog Joined February 2009
United States1008 Posts
May 16 2010 07:44 GMT
#5
So if say we borrow a billion from China, China borrows a billion from Russia, Russia borrows a billion from Germany, and Germany borrows a billion from the USA, everyone is in debt a billion? That's a ridiculously simple answer, is that all there is to it?
ieatkids5
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
United States4628 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-16 07:47:32
May 16 2010 07:46 GMT
#6
yep lol

edit - well more could be said, but that's pretty much it.
GoodWill
Profile Joined February 2009
Canada149 Posts
May 16 2010 07:47 GMT
#7
these are government debts, most of it are held by private investors I assume
Nightmarjoo
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
United States3360 Posts
May 16 2010 07:53 GMT
#8
Wow, Russia's pretty good at balancing their checkbook, only in debt $150 billion!
I didn't know Japan was almost as in-debt as us though, what's going on there?
aka Lyra; My favourites: July, Stork, Draco, MistrZZZ, TheStc, LastShadow - www.broodwarmaps.net - for all your mapping needs; check my stream: high masters mech terran: twitch.tv/lyrathegreat
XinRan
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
United States530 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-16 08:03:13
May 16 2010 08:01 GMT
#9
On May 16 2010 16:53 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Wow, Russia's pretty good at balancing their checkbook, only in debt $150 billion!
I didn't know Japan was almost as in-debt as us though, what's going on there?

I think it's years of stimulus spending to lift Japan out of the economic stagnation that started with the Asian financial crisis.

Personally, I blame democracy for the world's debt woes. Cutting social entitlement programs that bankrupt countries will always be politically unpopular.
"To be fair, Kal played like absolute garbage. His noted inconsistency and bad record versus Jaedong high fived into a cacophony of suck." - TwoToneTerran
blue_arrow
Profile Blog Joined July 2008
1971 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-16 08:16:42
May 16 2010 08:13 GMT
#10
these are government/public debts obviously , private investors and corporations are the ones doing most of the loaning =p
| MLIA | the weather sucks dick here
alexpnd
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Canada1857 Posts
May 16 2010 08:17 GMT
#11
the banks
www.brainyweb.ca //web stuff!
Romantic
Profile Joined January 2010
United States1844 Posts
May 16 2010 08:19 GMT
#12
On May 16 2010 17:01 XinRan wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 16 2010 16:53 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Wow, Russia's pretty good at balancing their checkbook, only in debt $150 billion!
I didn't know Japan was almost as in-debt as us though, what's going on there?

I think it's years of stimulus spending to lift Japan out of the economic stagnation that started with the Asian financial crisis.

Personally, I blame democracy for the world's debt woes. Cutting social entitlement programs that bankrupt countries will always be politically unpopular.

Cutting your 700,000,000,000$+ dollar military budget, halting wars of aggression, and investing in education (Kids can't vote anyway! Psh) not tax cuts are also pretty unpopular. Not to mention ending state sponsored terrorism, torture, that sort of thing.
Nightmarjoo
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
United States3360 Posts
May 16 2010 08:19 GMT
#13
On May 16 2010 17:13 blue_arrow wrote:
these are government/public debts obviously , private investors and corporations are the ones doing most of the loaning =p

That's a good point, and potentially a scary one. Not sure if I like the idea of private companies owning the gigantic debts of the entire world, that's a little too much bureaucratic power in the hands of people with virtually no accountability. Hard to regulate your lender, the guy who has you on his debt-leash.
aka Lyra; My favourites: July, Stork, Draco, MistrZZZ, TheStc, LastShadow - www.broodwarmaps.net - for all your mapping needs; check my stream: high masters mech terran: twitch.tv/lyrathegreat
nadafanboy42
Profile Joined August 2009
Netherlands209 Posts
May 16 2010 08:23 GMT
#14
Though China does hold some of this debt (about 500 billion to a trillion), the majority of this debt is held by banks. Basically you earn money, deposit it in your bank account, then your bank loans this money to various governments (amongst other investments ofc). Other big owners of this debt are hedge funds and investment firms (who get their money from big companies or rich people) and also pension funds, at least in the Netherlands I believe our pension funds have a total of near or over a trillion euros in savings that they to invest.
A big not often highlighted reason for the european bailout of greece is that a huge amount of the greek government debt is actuall owed to various banks in france germany etc., who would go bankrupt if several hundred billion euros of greek debt they hold suddenly became worthless.
The key thing to undersand is that though governments has a lot of money, the total amount of money that goes on in the economy in the private sector is always like, ten times bigger, so that's where the money comes from.
NaDa/Jaedong/Liquid-Fanboy
Caller
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
Poland8075 Posts
May 16 2010 08:38 GMT
#15
i was expecting something a lot more mathematically based

i was severely disappointed.
Watch me fail at Paradox: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=397564
Dr. Tran
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States125 Posts
Last Edited: 2010-05-16 09:26:02
May 16 2010 09:25 GMT
#16
Holy cow... japan, I had no idea it was that high for them.
darmousseh
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States3437 Posts
May 16 2010 09:29 GMT
#17
governments don't like math otherwise they could have to cut government spending.
Developer for http://mtgfiddle.com
Naib
Profile Blog Joined November 2004
Hungary4844 Posts
May 16 2010 09:39 GMT
#18
Hungary is sitting in there with the big fat red one of around 80% atm.

We're world class in something, hooray!
Complete the cycle!
leejas
Profile Blog Joined August 2007
United States440 Posts
May 16 2010 09:42 GMT
#19
that chart isn't specifically "countries in debt."

In simple terms, if I understand the charts correctly....

GDP is a total of spending categories

C- consumption (Thats basically us buying stuff...going to the supermarket, etc.)
I - Investment (any spending meant to generate more stuff. This is a factory for a company or a house for a person, because people are counted as labor)
G - Government (Anything the government buys as an entity)
(X - N) = Exports minus imports

Thus:
GDP = C + I + G + (X-N)

Now what the chart reflects is that the "redder" or higher percentage countries generate more national debt because they spend (and thus create) more money than they take in. All governments do this. More people means more money circulates, more goods, and more funds needed to run a country. (ie: 200$ can be exchanged between maybe a population of 5 people, but you need $200,000 to run a country of more ppl, etc.)

Some people previously said it's loans from groups/investors, so it could be anything from loans from other countries to the country buying on credit. Whatever a country doesn't make up for in taxes it has to use with loans or credit.

The picture depicts how much of a country's GDP is really based on loans or credits.

TL;DR
:

GDP is how much stuff a country has made and used. The picture shows what percent of a country's GDP comes from governments spending money they borrow.
Jibba
Profile Blog Joined October 2007
United States22883 Posts
May 16 2010 09:50 GMT
#20
On May 16 2010 17:01 XinRan wrote:
Show nested quote +
On May 16 2010 16:53 Nightmarjoo wrote:
Wow, Russia's pretty good at balancing their checkbook, only in debt $150 billion!
I didn't know Japan was almost as in-debt as us though, what's going on there?

I think it's years of stimulus spending to lift Japan out of the economic stagnation that started with the Asian financial crisis.

Personally, I blame democracy for the world's debt woes. Cutting social entitlement programs that bankrupt countries will always be politically unpopular.

Japanese financial crisis was independent of the Asian financial crisis.

It's difficult to explain because macroeconomics is a shifty art. Macroeconomic predictions are like reading goat entrails, and about as accurate.
ModeratorNow I'm distant, dark in this anthrobeat
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 28m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SortOf 173
StarCraft: Brood War
Hyuk 1022
Mong 308
Hm[arnc] 95
Shuttle 52
NotJumperer 32
Noble 18
910 16
Free 16
GoRush 12
Dota 2
XaKoH 386
febbydoto41
League of Legends
JimRising 857
C9.Mang0437
Counter-Strike
allub173
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor119
Other Games
Liquid`RaSZi503
WinterStarcraft494
ceh9364
Mew2King166
KnowMe13
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick856
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• iopq 1
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Lourlo1359
• Jankos784
• Stunt411
Other Games
• Shiphtur318
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
28m
RongYI Cup
2h 28m
herO vs Solar
TriGGeR vs Maru
WardiTV Invitational
5h 28m
The PondCast
1d
HomeStory Cup
2 days
Korean StarCraft League
2 days
HomeStory Cup
3 days
Replay Cast
3 days
HomeStory Cup
4 days
Replay Cast
4 days
[ Show More ]
Replay Cast
5 days
Wardi Open
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-01-26
OSC Championship Season 13
Underdog Cup #3

Ongoing

CSL 2025 WINTER (S19)
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 1
Acropolis #4 - TS4
Rongyi Cup S3
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter Qual
eXTREMESLAND 2025
SL Budapest Major 2025
ESL Impact League Season 8
BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S1: W6
Escore Tournament S1: W7
Acropolis #4
IPSL Spring 2026
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Bellum Gens Elite Stara Zagora 2026
LiuLi Cup: 2025 Grand Finals
HSC XXVIII
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League Season 23
ESL Pro League Season 23
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.