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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sully- who wrote (399071)	4/25/2003 2:03:14 PM
From: jackhach	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Because there are "day to day" operating expenses (just like a private/public company) and then there is debt service (long or short). No different then IBM or Microsoft. When IBM makes money on a purely operational level -- it has generated a surplus or a "profit". If then IBM takes some of that particular year's profit and pays down some of its LT outstanding debt -- then they have NET reduced overall liability (presumably -- if debt hasn't looped/compounded.) If, however, IBM decides to ignore the debt and takes the dough and gives its managers huge bonuses or simply plows the dough back into R&D or what have you -- then "all other things being equal" they have probably raised their liability -- despite the surplus/profit. Most companies will choose a combo approach -- depending on the prevailing costs of borrowed money. ...I apologize if the tone is insulting or overly simplistic -- but I'm not quite sure you truly "want" to understand this whole thing. I sense that you've "bought" into some neatly, pre-packaged misinformation conveyed by someone with a specific agenda -- and you can't believe that what you wer told was wrong. -JH