Letter: We're rich ... not!

How many times from the media have you heard the phrase "We are the richest country in the world, but ..." then followed by "can't afford to blah, blah, blah?"

Well, breaking news, we are not the richest country in the world. We owe over $30 trillion. That makes us essentially bankrupt, just no one dares to mention that.

When we hear that the government is "sending money" or "spending money," what is really happening is we are giving the U.S. government credit card to others to use. We then get to pay the interest on the card for their spending.

Consider this analogy: John Q. Public has a credit card balance of $15,000. Every month, he makes a minimum payment of the interest on the balance. In the meantime, he gives his card to his relatives, friends and outright strangers so they can buy themselves new big screen TVs and cellphones. Then the credit limit and balance keeps growing and the credit card company loves it because the interest gets paid and the balance lasts forever.

By the way, politicians have allowed credit card companies to charge as much as 29% interest. I wonder what rate our government creditors are paying? The interest is being paid by the taxpayers, and statements have been made in the media that 50% of the public pay no taxes.

Not a pretty picture. So, no, we are not the richest country in the world. Period.

George Kujanski

Palatine