<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Like I’ve said before, if EVERY country is in debt (and they all do seem to be), then who owns all that debt? </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">What effect would debt simplification have on the overall picture? </font></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://feedback.splitwise.com/knowledgebase/articles/107220-what-does-the-simplify-debts-setting-do">http://feedback.splitwise.com/knowledgebase/articles/107220-what-does-the-simplify-debts-setting-do</a></div><div><br></div><div>In the example above, overall debt was reduced 50%.</div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">> holding the bag - spike</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Technically, no one ever has to hold the bag because you can:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">(1) Default</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">(2) New country/government</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">(3) Inflation (“Money printer goes brrrrr”)</span></div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div>> Americans will move elsewhere -</span> <span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">bill w</span><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">How? </span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;">Degrees?</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br></span></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Only about 35% of Americans have bachelor’s degrees. For most countries thats the absolute minimum to come as general skilled labor. </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">This allows you, at the least, to become an English teacher in many parts of the world. </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Religion? (Right of Return)</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">There is perhaps a population of as many as 5 million Jews in the US, but the majority likely do not qualify. </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">I am ethnically Jewish but the last practicing member in my family was my Great-grandfather so I missed it by a generation. It must be your father or grandfather.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">You must also be sufficiently orthodox. Members of reform and restorationist belief do not qualify. You could theoretically convert.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Military?</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">By fighting in foreign military, it is possible to get citizenship. 2 years in the IDF (though you might have to convert), 3 in the FFL, 3 years Russian army. If you are in US military, NZ (I think). </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Ancestry?</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Many countries will consider ancestry based requests based on parents and grandparents, but only a few further than that.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Other skills?</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">IT, with enough experience, a degree might not be required.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">So all-in-all, many Americans don’t really have anywhere else to move. Myself for example, and the US in general.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Degree: no. I’d need 4 years and student loans. 65% of Americans don't have them. So now 35% can leave.</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Religion: no. Unless absolutely necessary, and if already married, would I even consider converting. And that would still require 2-3 years. Likely less than 1% of Americans would qualify. A good number of whom have college degrees, the average US Jew has 14.7 years of education, with about 75% having college degrees. Now we’re at 35.5%!</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Military: My fiancé and I are not “draftable” in the US anymore but it should be possible to still join the military until at least 30. The issue? Like most Americans, I am too fat!</font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Approx number of US men and women between 19 and 35: 66 million. The percent that are obese (too fat for the military)? 40% So that leaves us with about 40 million souls. About 35% of those were already counted as college graduates. Now we have about 26 million. Thats about 8%. Now about 43% can leave! </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Ancestry: My maternal grandfather, his grandparents were German. Nope! My Maternal grandmother, her parents were Russian/Belarusian and Irish-American. Nope. My Paternal Grandfather is Boston white-bread, and his wife was Peruvian. But it has to be your parent. Oops. I can’t</font><span style="font-family: "comic sans ms", sans-serif; font-size: small;"> use that. </span></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Percent of Americans with at least one foreign parent? Well, there are some 20 million of them (6%). They have an average college graduation rate. So now about 4%. The other variables I cant account for. </font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2"><br></font></div><div><font face="comic sans ms, sans-serif" size="2">Less than 50% of Americans can leave. Through sustained religious conversion or massive debt, the other half could maybe leave in about 3-4 years. But Israel won’t accept 150 million new citizens. No one needs that many English teachers, and not that many Americans speak foreign languages. </font></div></body></html>