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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bentway who wrote (466478)	3/25/2009 10:13:08 PM
From: i-node	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1575551

>>> Do you know what a "current account surplus" is? Yes, but it isn't anything to do with SS, and it isn't anything to do with accounting. Accountants abandoned the use of the term "surplus" except in very specific circumstances many years go (in the early 60s, I believe) because the term was widely misunderstood to indicate something that wasn't indicated. For example, there was a time when "Retained Earnings" was commonly referred to as "Earned Surplus". But dunderheads (that would be you) took it to mean that the business actually had a "surplus" of money, which of course, it didn't mean at all. Thus, the term surplus was banned except in very limited circumstances. As was the term "reserve", for the same reasons. When you owe trillions more than you have there is no surplus. There can be a positive cash balance, but that in no way indicates solvency or financial stability or any of the things SS ought to be.