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Economic Values

Why America is in debt

America's Debt Problem: An Analogy

Imagine there is a family.
There is a Mom, Dad, grandparents (both sides), five children and
their spouses, and ten grandchildren. They all live under the same
roof and have to budget as such.
The grandparents don't work so their expenses have to be covered.
Though the parents and most children work, all but three work outside the home.

The grandchildren do not work, but need to have school and expenses also
covered. So this household needs extra income to pay for all the mounting
bills. But wait there is more.
Neighbor kids come over and want to sleep over and/or be provided foster
care. They also need medical attention and the bills are sent to that
family. So the Father borrows some money from his neighbors and is willing
to pay back these loans with money and big item merchandise. The neighbors
are willing to help with expenses as long as they get concessions.
Now the family members who work for the family must be paid from the
income derived by the three family members that work outside the home.
The bills start to mount.
More neighbor kids appear at the door. They are hungry and need to be
sheltered and fed. The family feels obliged to help in any capacity.
The family finds out that the neighbor kids are working outside the
home, but not helping with any of their host family's household expenses.
Now the friends who helped loan money to the family are now offering to
up their previous loan amounts for a cost.
Making matters worse, some bullies down the street have destroyed some
of the home's property. The family decides to use resources to seek revenge
on the culprits as well as adding a beefed up security security system at cost.
Soon decisions made by the family are coming under attack by the the freeloading
neighbor kids who want some say as to how they are to be sheltered and cared for
in that house.
Some of the children in the family try to earn some extra cash by gambling with
their friends and other family members to bring in expenses to keep up their
rooms. Some family members just turn a blind eye to the outstanding loans, the
aging and longevity of the grandparents (and soon the parents), and all the new
mounting bills.
Three of the kids are losing their rooms because of their spending habits.
It seems that some bigger kids made loans within the family that their
own siblings could not pay them back. The bigger kids rely on the parents
to make sure that those


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Why America is in debt

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Why America is in debt

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