Understanding National Wealth

Are we saddling future generations with “crushing levels of debt?” Does China’s ownership of our debt give them threatening power over us? Do our political leaders understand how much debt we can issue safely? Debt clocks mounted in prominent places such as Times Square, New York, are spinning wildly upward. It has become a national obsession. But where is the national asset clock mounted to balance the picture? Our current public and private debt levels are far from unmanageable.

In his new book, Understanding National Wealth: The Triumph of the Most Successful Political Economy in History, author and expert economic analyst Richard Smith challenges decades of economic and political conventional wisdom. A must-have resource for everyone from financial planners, politicians, academia, and journalists to individuals wishing to gain clarity in an election year; it tackles a myriad of topics:

-The elusive financial picture of the country. Even the Federal Reserve data is highly fragmented and not consolidated.

-Excellent financial condition. The US is worth $100-trillion─it is not the often trumpeted economic basket case.

-Highly overrated obsession with federal debt. The $22-trillion of national debt is under 15% of total assets. Importantly, 70% is owned─held as an offsetting asset─by the US.

-China and foreign ownership of US debt is immaterial. China debt ownership is under 1% of US assets. And it’s a two-way street: US owns comparable levels of foreign debt.

-Social Security and Medicare are not liabilities. They are “fund-as-you-go” transfer payments, not “trust funds” triggering the recording of a liability.

-Focus on “FEY”. Freedom, Education, Young demographics: the three long-term macro drivers behind high levels of national wealth creation.

-US strong, China weak. Through the FEY lens, US scores well in 2 of the 3 (slightly aging population), while China scores poorly in 2 of the 3 (mostly unfree and hyper-aging).

-Corrosive political bias. This leads to lack of scientific integrity and openness, with wanting to be right, not get it right.

By bringing together and consolidating the best available data into a national balance sheet containing all private and public sector assets and liabilities, this groundbreaking work highlights in clear language and solid research the critical areas for financial consideration and discussion, both current and prospective. As the adage goes, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own set of facts.”

Understanding National Wealth brings the desperately needed information and clarity to the national discussion of these critically important topics.

Author Bio:

Richard Smith has a range of business experience from private development stage start-ups to $300-million public companies. As chief financial officer, he led a successful $132-million initial public offering (IPO) and many private placements to fund and capitalize high-growth companies. Currently, Smith is the Managing Director of an advisory firm specializing in analyzing economic and financial conditions and their impact on financial projections and operations. Smith received his MPhil from Cambridge University and is a certified public accountant (CPA).