The loo roll crisis and other credit crunch fun facts

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Jeff Nolan pinged to say – with some astonishment – that the US Fed’s obligations now exceed global GDP:

As the Obama administration pushes through Congress its $800 billion deficit-spending economic stimulus plan, the American public is largely unaware that the true deficit of the federal government already is measured in trillions of dollars, and in fact its $65.5 trillion in total obligations exceeds the gross domestic product of the world.

The total U.S. obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits to be paid in the future, effectively have placed the U.S. government in bankruptcy, even before new continuing social welfare obligation embedded in the massive spending plan are taken into account.

That isn’t stopping cash strapped organizations coming up with ever inventive ways to save money. How about this:

Inmates at the Des Moines County jail in Burlington may have to begin paying for toilet paper. The county is facing a more than $1.7 million deficit in this year’s budget and the Board of Supervisors gave department heads the option of cutting costs or facing the possibility of unpaid furloughs or layoffs…

…County Budget Director Cheryl McVey says billing inmates for toilet paper could save more than $2,300.

They could of course go the other way and sell loo roll to inmates by the square. That might raise more money. I’m sure some accountant somewhere is running a spreadsheet on that one.

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• Jail Considers Making Inmates Pay For Toilet Paper (cbsnews.com)
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Tagged as: Federal government of the United States