World's 3 biggest economies

US
China
Japan

Not much going spending big on the military when you're up to your eyeballs in debt to China. If they decided to act on those debts the US economy would go into meltdown...and there's nothing the military could do about it.

^^

Not much good

The following is the test which myhammers has proposed to assess an economic superpower :

"How can (china)...be classed as a superpower in the same mould as the US? You two are looking at how China spends its money, as opposed to how much money it has"

As we all know america is on the verge of bankruptcy due to being unable to meet its debt repayments to china and others.

Myhammers is therefore either :

a) arguing that being unable to pay your debts / on the verge of bankruptcy makes a country an economic superpower (which would be nonsense), or

b) he is is actually arguing that china is a supwerpower and america isnt, or

c) he's forgotten which of the countries is in debt and which is in surplus

So, as of this moment, China is :

In the TOP 2 biggest economies and spenders on military.
Only the USA is bigger.

If it walks like a superpower, talks like a superpower, spends like a superpower ...

Groove: I know of America's indebtedness to China. But that's not the issue we're discussing.

On a separate topic, can you imagine the US standing idly by as China calls in its debts and cripples them?
Economic power is one thing. Military power is quite something else.

Myhammers is therefore either :

a) arguing that being unable to pay your debts / on the verge of bankruptcy makes a country an economic superpower (which would be nonsense), or

b) he is is actually arguing that china is a supwerpower and america isnt, or

c) he's forgotten which of the countries is in debt and which is in surplus
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a) Maybe that's how it works at West Ham...doesn't matter if you're in debt as long as you carry a weapon?

b) Isn't this the same as claiming West Ham are a bigger club than Spurs?

c) Standard West Ham...tell the fans you're going to sign Carroll when you know you'll never have enough cash

JPB :

I worked it out the my tests.
If a nation N SPENDS MORE on anything more than any other nation, then it is THE superpower.

Whether N is spending its own money, or that which it has had to borrow from others, is irrelevant.

myhammers....so you actually think the US will go to war with China because they can't pay their debts?

Don't you think the rest of the world might be a little peeved?

On a separate topic, can you imagine the US standing idly by as China calls in its debts and cripples them?
Economic power is one thing. Military power is quite something else.
================

funilly enough, i seem to remember the options on the table last year as being :

a) agree to spending cuts

b) go bankrupt

I dont remember the "nuke china" option being discussed

RDBD: Once again, you're looking at a country's position in the table and not the actual amounts involved.
China's spending is $106bn. America's is $739bn. Bit of a difference, methinks.

JPB

Vertonghen :

I think we have collectively deciphered the mentality.
As long as you have something BIGGER in your possession, irrespective of whether you can afford to buy/own said thing yourself, you are "bigger" .

RDBD...but it must be nice living in that cosy, naive little bubble

"I dont remember the "nuke china" option being discussed"

It probably is.
But only by yer usual USA planks who think Japan and China are the same country (the former not having the means to "nuke" back) .

I think the rest of the world was more than a little peeved when America ignored the UN and invaded Iraq.

"it must be nice living in that cosy, naive little bubble"

It served the UK very well indeed from high to low, from 1997-2008.
Until some b-a-s-t-a-r-d-s called the debts in (NUKE EM I SAY !!! ) .

I think there's just a teeny weeny difference between invading Iraq and declaring war on one of the world's superpowers because you can't pay your debts.

Typical Tottenham naiveness! You're the same ones who believe a new stadium costing £450m will be built just because your chairman said so.

"China's spending is $106bn. America's is $739bn. Bit of a difference, methinks."

Given that China have lent the USA money to the sum of 5 TO 6 TIMES the amount of the USA military spend, I think they could have spent a little bit more on their military, no.

Perhaps China funds its military on the interest paid by the USA on its debts.

Not really, it's mainly to do with the plans and the building work starting

oh...and the word is naivety

Maybe China are just letting the US stockpile weapons then they'll buy them all cheap as part of their debt management

"Not really, it's mainly to do with the plans and the building work starting"

Perhaps mys has a detailed costing for doing the work to date, and how much money is left in the tin.

anyway guys, the purpose of this thread wasnt to argue with myhammers. all views welcome

Vertonghen.

Buy up all the tech/IPR of a bankrupt competitor.
Damn dem Chinese are learning corporate strategy fast.