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by the_gws 5422 days ago
Half cheek in tongue answer: The difference is that in the US people believe that they will be making more and more every year while in Sweden you don't. So they think they will own tomorrow the money to pay back what they spend today.

Are they right? Well, from 1970 to 2010 US economy has grown at an average of 2,9% per year, while Sweden by 2,1% (1). This is a huge difference, almost 50% more. So yes, they are both right :)

(1) Figures are GDP growth at market prices, source: OECD