Apple Does Not Have More Cash Than The US Gov't; Stop Saying That It Does

from the please-make-it-stop dept

It seems that there's a fun, but stupid, game that the press has picked up on in this whole debt ceiling debate (egged on by some in the government) that, thanks to the debt ceiling, Apple has more cash than the US government. As we get closer to the debt ceiling cut off, other mile markers are being highlighted as well, including the claim that Bill Gates has more money than the US government.

This is wrong. And it is stupid. Please stop repeating it.

The US government can print cash. It does not run out of cash. The numbers being talked about concerning the debt ceiling represent an artificial limit, set by the government, on how much the US can borrow (debt) in order to finance its operations (set in a budget by the federal government itself). What the Apple comparison treats as government "cash" is just the difference between what the government is (artificially) permitted to borrow and what it has borrowed already.

None of this has anything to do with how much cash the government has on hand. Comparing the distance to the debt ceiling with the amount of cash anyone has is comparing two totally different things, and while it sounds nice, it's a silly political ploy and it makes you look silly. A more accurate comparison would be of something like how much money I have in my wallet right now to how much money Bill Gates' arbitrarily promised his wife he would take out of the bank this year. The comparison is totally meaningless and stupid. Please stop making it.

Filed Under: cash, debt ceiling, us government
Companies: apple