Monday, August 20, 2012

Most Interesting Sentence I Read Today

"Belize, a Central American nation with an economy the size of Pine Bluff, Arkansas, is running out of money to pay its debts."

~Today's WSJ

MP: Actually, the economy of Pine Bluff in 2010 at $3.2 billion, was more than twice the size of Belize's $1.4 billion GDP in 2011, although adjusting for purchasing power parity brings Belize's GDP up to $2.8 billion. 

11 Comments:

At 8/20/2012 3:31 PM, Blogger Jon Murphy said...

Even with all the math aside, that sentence is really evident of how wealthy America and Americans are.

 
At 8/20/2012 3:48 PM, Blogger morganovich said...

the us federal deficit would be the 15th largest national economy in the world. (about the size of canada)

it's easy to forget just how much bigger the us is than everybody else.

other than china, there is not a country with even 1/3 of our gdp.

 
At 8/20/2012 4:04 PM, Blogger GW South said...

Amazing statistic. Probably the 6th or 7th largest city in one of the poorer states in the country, and its economy is the size of an entire country.

 
At 8/20/2012 7:10 PM, Blogger rjs said...

sustinence agriculture doesnt generate much capital...wait till they strike oil, they'll compete w/ N Dakota...

 
At 8/20/2012 11:51 PM, Blogger Buddy R Pacifico said...

The market capitalization of Apple is 444 times the size of the economy of Belize

In fact, the economy of Belize is the size of of a small cap stock -- < $2 billion.

 
At 8/21/2012 7:07 AM, Blogger Michael E. Marotta said...

Belize is a tourist hotspot. Wealthy people go there to conspicuously consume leisure time. Perhaps the problem is that the government of Belize had the wrong market model - or, actually, no market model.

Some Caribbean nations design their money to be beautiful specifically to induce vacationers to take it home. What a deal! (For 50 years, Ireland exported its Pennies to New York and Boston, one dollar at a time.)

 
At 8/21/2012 8:01 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Belize is Central Americas biggest pot farm...those numbers need to be added in.

 
At 8/21/2012 10:17 AM, Blogger Jet Beagle said...

Michael E. Marotta: "Perhaps the problem is that the government of Belize had the wrong market model - or, actually, no market model."

Are you meaning "no market model" or "no marketing model"?

A number of tropical nations have government agencies which promote tourism. I've wondered whether such government-sponsored marketing programs are really necessary. If a small nation guaranteed property rights and protected businesses and tourists from criminals, wouldn't tourism flourish anyway?

 
At 8/23/2012 12:15 AM, Blogger Hydra said...

If that is the most interesting thing you have reead, you need to get out more.

 
At 8/23/2012 12:17 AM, Blogger Hydra said...

Maybe Apple could just buy Belize.

Move their manufacturing there and solve a lot of problems.

The company store goes global.

 
At 8/23/2012 12:23 AM, Blogger Hydra said...

it's easy to forget just how much bigger the us is than everybody else.

other than china, there is not a country with even 1/3 of our gdp.


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Exactly the way I compare Mitt Romney's income to mine, only with a few more zeros.

If Mitt Romney was the United States, I would be what, Poland? A lot bigger than many, but no where near the top.

 

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