Every once in a while we come across a story so ludicrous we simply can't pass it by. The following comes to us from BusinessInsider.com and was written by Joe Weisenthal (or his pet monkey), who is either the ultimate contrarian, bomb thrower, or simply a dangerous fool. So as not to twist his words, here are his comments in their entirety.

“On CNBC, China observer Stephen Roach argued that the US needs to heed the warnings of China, because the US can't fund its own debt domestically because it doesn't save.

This is just not true.

This chart shows the total net worth of households and non-profits in the US. It's basically the private sector's “book value” and it currently stands close to $60 trillion, far bigger than US government's debt.

Even if there were no foreign buyers of US debt — a ludicrous idea, so long as foreigners run a trade surplus with the US that must be recycled — the US has plenty of domestic savings. This idea that we have to go begging to China to keep the government open is nothing more than dangerous nonsense that feeds into fears, stoking misguided political agendas.”

Thank y

ou , Joe. Now if you could just exit quickly stage left and don't let the door hit you in the rear end on the way out. Holy smokes! Where to even begin with this nonsense? In simple terms, Mr. Weisenthal is suggesting that the entire US debt problem is simply a matter of “book value,” more specifically, how much debt has been incurred by our loathsome administrators as compared to how much our entire nation is worth when you total up the value of all households and non-profit organizations.

The question begging to be asked here is, “Are you seriously suggesting we guarantee the public debt incurred with the personal savings of every man, woman, and child in the country?” That we simply hold a mega yard sale on every street corner some weekend and sell enough personal assets to pay off the debt in one fell swoop?

Contrarian opinion is one thing but at some point it becomes too idiotic to even waste time or breathe in discussion. Mr. Weisenthal, you have reached that point.

Good day.

The American Monetary Association Team

(Flickr / besighyawn)