Spencer Solves the US Debt Problem: Fire Sale of Guam

My dad went to business school, or so he tells me whenever I suggest he changes the asset allocation in my 529 plan. According to my Dad, in business, if you're short on cash, you sell any asset that's not core so you can save the company. My mom - a doctor by training who excels at diagnosing any cough or sneeze from me as a potentially fatal illness - would liken this to cutting off a gangrenous toe so it doesn't spread...but that's gross.

So the US is short on cash - well, we get plenty of cash from China...but apparently their funding agreement dictates that starting in 2010 Tim Geithner has to start delivering hamburgers to Beijing on a bike.

Did you know that we own Guam?

How much do you think Guam is worth? In my free time...between visits to the playground and poops...I've done a few calculations.

In San Francisco's tony Pacific Heights neighborhood, houses are going for roughly $1,000 per square foot. I'm rounding here - I don't want to get 50 emails from recent buyers in Pac Heights bragging about how they got their place for only $950/sqft.

The total size of Guam is 209 square miles, which is about 5.8 billion square feet. At Pac Heights values, that's a total value of $5.8 Trillion! And I could make a good argument that all that beach front property should go for way over $1K/sqft.

Once you take out the 6% real estate commission (those damn real estate agents!), that would leave $5.5T to pay down the national debt.

Now sadly, that only takes out about half of our debt....so Puerto Rico, watch out. You may be next.


OK enough about economics - let's get to the important stuff: me!

I'm currently in intense training for the 2010 mini-x-games (which will be broadcast on ESPNBaby). Today I set up a little stunt set in my living room - I'm not kidding, I set this up myself (note from Spencer's Dad: he's not kidding...). Check out my mad couch diving skills!





Don't worry, I won't get too crazy with this. Our windows are baby proofed. I already tried.


I found some pictures on our little PowerShot from when my grandma Joyce came to visit a month or so ago - and realized there were a few cute ones on there! Here's one of my mom, grandma and me at the playground.







And a few months ago my parents went with some friends up to wine country for the weekend...and I totally forgot about this shot at a winery where I was playing with my dad's sunglasses!






This was the same place where I saw a cat playing around with a partially-disemboweled mouse that was clearly peeping for its life...not for the squeamish. Yes, the cat eventually ate it. Just like in National Geographic!







OK, OK, just a few more ludicrously cute shots of....me!









Love,
Spencer