Look up fractional reserve banking.
Theoretically, if they were to loan out $16 trillion in one go (at the effective average reserve rate of 3%) they would only be required to be holding $480 billion in reserve (which in turn can be from incoming payments from other loans).
Sorry, I'm a noob. I didn't realise formatting was manual:
The USA financial system is structed in a way that encourages crazy amounts of spending (see: War on Terror) in order the fill the big banks pockets.
Look at this (2010 stats):
Annual Tax Revenue: $2.162 trillion
US Govt Spending: $3.456 trillion
This means that the US government is spending $1.294 trillion more than what it earns.
Now, what does the government do when it needs more money? it is not allowed to print it's own money so it sells Treasuries (IOUs in the form of Notes, bonds, securities)
Who buys these treasuries? Foreign countries, the public - but, the biggest buyers by far are the Federal Reserve Banks (and tricky intra government debt).
The Fed loans out money to banks at 0.00% interest, who in turn buy US Treasuries that pay approximately 4% per annum. Can you say "We're making money out of thin air"? The banks sure can. It's in their best interest that the government remains in debt and constantly requires money to continue to provide services, pay off their debt payments (to prevent a default) - and most importantly PROLONG a hugely expensive war!
On top of that it's the most highly out-sourced and privatised war in history (I'll loan you the money, and then I'll get it back from you) - but that's a whole other story - and it applies to 99% of government spending.
Note: I've intentionally simplified this and left out many other factors - if I were to talk about everything I would be here all day.
The USA financial system is structed in a way that encourages crazy amounts of spending (see: War on Terror) in order the fill the big banks pockets.
Look at this (2010 stats):
Annual Tax Revenue: $2.162 trillion
US Govt Spending: $3.456 trillion
This means that the US government is spending $1.294 trillion more than what it earns.
Now, what does the government do when it needs more money? it is not allowed to print it's own money so it sells Treasuries (IOUs in the form of Notes, bonds, securities)
Who buys these treasuries? Foreign countries, the public - but, the biggest buyers by far are the Federal Reserve Banks (and tricky intra government debt).
The Fed loans out money to banks at 0.00% interest, who in turn buy US Treasuries that pay approximately 4% per annum. Can you say "We're making money out of thin air"? The banks sure can. It's in their best interest that the government remains in debt and constantly requires money to continue to provide services, pay off their debt payments (to prevent a default) - and most importantly PROLONG a hugely expensive war!
On top of that it's the most highly out-sourced and privatised war in history (I'll loan you the money, and then I'll get it back from you) - but that's a whole other story - and it applies to 99% of government spending.
Note: I've intentionally simplified this and left out many other factors - if I were to talk about everything I would be here all day.
There are many factors that could alter the reading on a breathalyser.
Our bodies get rid of alcohol in many different ways and at varying rates. Some people will naturally blow higher ratings than others.
In Australia, after a breathalyzer is used to detect potential drunk drivers, the driver is taken into a "booze bus" or the nearest police station where a blood sample is taken and tested to give the true result.
The breathalyzer result should NEVER used in court.
Slashdot Mirror
Look up fractional reserve banking. Theoretically, if they were to loan out $16 trillion in one go (at the effective average reserve rate of 3%) they would only be required to be holding $480 billion in reserve (which in turn can be from incoming payments from other loans).
Sorry, I'm a noob. I didn't realise formatting was manual:
The USA financial system is structed in a way that encourages crazy amounts of spending (see: War on Terror) in order the fill the big banks pockets.
Look at this (2010 stats):
Annual Tax Revenue: $2.162 trillion
US Govt Spending: $3.456 trillion
This means that the US government is spending $1.294 trillion more than what it earns.
Now, what does the government do when it needs more money? it is not allowed to print it's own money so it sells Treasuries (IOUs in the form of Notes, bonds, securities)
Who buys these treasuries? Foreign countries, the public - but, the biggest buyers by far are the Federal Reserve Banks (and tricky intra government debt).
The Fed loans out money to banks at 0.00% interest, who in turn buy US Treasuries that pay approximately 4% per annum. Can you say "We're making money out of thin air"? The banks sure can. It's in their best interest that the government remains in debt and constantly requires money to continue to provide services, pay off their debt payments (to prevent a default) - and most importantly PROLONG a hugely expensive war!
On top of that it's the most highly out-sourced and privatised war in history (I'll loan you the money, and then I'll get it back from you) - but that's a whole other story - and it applies to 99% of government spending.
Note: I've intentionally simplified this and left out many other factors - if I were to talk about everything I would be here all day.
The USA financial system is structed in a way that encourages crazy amounts of spending (see: War on Terror) in order the fill the big banks pockets. Look at this (2010 stats): Annual Tax Revenue: $2.162 trillion US Govt Spending: $3.456 trillion This means that the US government is spending $1.294 trillion more than what it earns. Now, what does the government do when it needs more money? it is not allowed to print it's own money so it sells Treasuries (IOUs in the form of Notes, bonds, securities) Who buys these treasuries? Foreign countries, the public - but, the biggest buyers by far are the Federal Reserve Banks (and tricky intra government debt). The Fed loans out money to banks at 0.00% interest, who in turn buy US Treasuries that pay approximately 4% per annum. Can you say "We're making money out of thin air"? The banks sure can. It's in their best interest that the government remains in debt and constantly requires money to continue to provide services, pay off their debt payments (to prevent a default) - and most importantly PROLONG a hugely expensive war! On top of that it's the most highly out-sourced and privatised war in history (I'll loan you the money, and then I'll get it back from you) - but that's a whole other story - and it applies to 99% of government spending. Note: I've intentionally simplified this and left out many other factors - if I were to talk about everything I would be here all day.
There are many factors that could alter the reading on a breathalyser. Our bodies get rid of alcohol in many different ways and at varying rates. Some people will naturally blow higher ratings than others. In Australia, after a breathalyzer is used to detect potential drunk drivers, the driver is taken into a "booze bus" or the nearest police station where a blood sample is taken and tested to give the true result. The breathalyzer result should NEVER used in court.