What Do Other Nations Owe The US?

[ulTRAX]

In discussing the amount of debt Bush ran up with a Bush supporter he said it would not be a problem if all the nations that owed us money just paid us back. While this person has, in classic partisan fashion, sabotaged his intelligence... I serious doubt that the total foreign debt owed the US amounts too much... perhaps in the 100-200 billion range. But I don't really know what's on the books. For instance Britain still owes us for money borrowed to fight WWI... though with interest it's only 14 Billion. Much debt for impoverished nations was forgiven in the late 90s.

So leaving aside the matter that the US is perhaps the world's biggest debtor nation.... does anyone know of a credible source of that outlines what nations owe the US? I'm not having any luck finding any such list.

Thanks!

[Jim Sagle]

1. Squat.

[ulTRAX]

2. thanks for that thoughtful reply

As I said on the books there's still a debt the UK owes the US of at least 14 billion. Source:
http://www.jubilee2000uk.org/jubilee2000/backyard.html

So maybe you might want to consider doing some research before giving out wrong answers. I am, after all, trying to clobber this baffoon with credible data... not sink to his level by passing off empty claims as proof.

[ProgressiveConn]

3. Wow now I never know to answer any question YOU ask.

I agree with him. We have profited off the results of those actions.

We shouldn't expect payment on a single dime.

[ulTRAX]

5. this is NOT a question about morality

mine was NOT a question about morality. It's merely a question of how much debt is on the books.

If you don't know the answer.... please just say so.

[punpirate]

4. In looking around...

... it occurs to me that some distinction might have to be made between unpaid US government loans and money owed by undeveloped and developing countries to US financial institutions through the IMF and the World Bank.

The former is probably not a great deal of money. The latter certainly is a substantial amount, since not all of that debt has been forgiven. Much of it has been renegotiated and the interest payments are burdensome (certainly part of the reason Argentina recently defaulted on a portion of its loans, agreeing to pay only 43 cents on the dollar).

Delving into the percentage of IMF/World Bank funding which is underwritten by US banks might be an even more daunting task.

[ulTRAX]

6. ya, IMF/WB makes it more confusing

But thanks for helping out!

[ulTRAX]

7. maybe some of the morning people know

Since no one last night knew the answer... this is a shameless bump for the morning crowd ;-)

[TWiley]

8. He has wrongly assumed that any money should be used

to support the bush family wars effort to expand the bush families private business interests in the middle east.

Whatever money is owed, it should not be used to further enrich the bushtapo. Why not fund a few good liberal programs with the money.

The republicans credibility must be very low in reality if they must point to 65 year old debts as a vehicle to finance their planned year 2005 acts of stupidity.

[ulTRAX]

9. I know this person lives in RR'tard LaLa Land....

The issue was how much the US is owed could offset the debt. NOT whether it would be misused if collected. After all, Bush is already borrowing some 600 Billion for to offset his policies.... including imperial oil grabs.

I know this person lives in a delusional lala land where he places his beliefs over any attempt to acknowledge reality. And I'm sure that should I be able to get the correct figures and they don't prove his point... he'll move on to some other lame rationale to excuse Bush's irresponsible and illegal behavior. That's the nature of partisan psychosis.

But that doesn't mean I should not bother trying to get some accurate figures

[TWiley]

10. Yep, that has been my experience.

<<<And I'm sure that should I be able to get the correct figures and they don't prove his point... he'll move on to some other lame rationale to excuse Bush's irresponsible and illegal behavior.>>>

This always happens to me as well. It is part of the whole "accepting things on faith alone" When reality challanges their bad reasoning, they move right along to other issues.

As far as the amount of debt is concerned, I do not have a clue what that amount would be. Maybe the GAO has some records on the subject.

[ulTRAX]

11. extreme partisanship is a form of self-induced psychosis

Some, Left and Right, fall victim to a form of extreme partisanship that warps their entire world view. Denial of reality is just one symptom. I see it as a form of irrationality indistinguishable from psychosis.