Thread: Apple has more cash than the federal government

Apple has more cash than the federal government

Maybe President Obama should turn to Steve Jobs for help in the debt-ceiling crisis.

By Kim Peterson on Fri, Jul 29, 2011 2:50 PM

Apple (AAPL) appears better funded than the United States at this point.

The struggling federal government is down to an operating cash balance of $73.8 billion, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Treasury. That's not much to go on. In fact, Apple has more than that in its bank account.

In its latest earnings report, Apple had $76.2 billion in cash and marketable securities (short-term and long-term). Get Steve Jobs to the Oval Office, quick!

But, as the Financial Post points out, the numbers aren't directly comparable. The government's balance is how much wiggle room it has before hitting that dreaded debt ceiling. And Apple's figure shows its cash and investments that can be converted into cash.

Apple's $76.2 billion, by the way, was as of June 25. We can only assume the company has stockpiled more by this point.

At any rate, the comparison puts some things into perspective. Apple is on its way to owning the world. And the U.S. government, well, maybe it should get into the tech business.

http://money.msn.com/top-stocks/post.as ... 75f9b7bbb0

And pays very little in taxes to boot.Thats whats bad,if they pay any at all they might even get money back on tax returns.