Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Is a U.S. Debt Default Inevitable? / Politics / US Debt
By: Submissions
Patrick J. Buchanan write: We were blindsided. We never saw it coming.
So said Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein of the financial crisis of 2008. He likened its probability to four hurricanes hitting the East Coast in a single season.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Municipal Meltdown: Teacher Pensions, Bondholder Coupons, Go to Court / Politics / US Debt
By: Submissions
While the Illinois Constitution protects vested pension benefits, that promise, like all the state's obligations, is only as good as its ability to pay." -Crain's Chicago Business
"Illinois Enters a State of Insolvency" cried a January 18, 2010 headline from Crain's Chicago Business: "As Illinois' fiscal crisis deepens, the word 'bankruptcy' is creeping more and more into the public discourse."
Monday, January 25, 2010
U.S. Government On Its Way to Bankruptcy Part1 / Economics / US Debt
By: Michael_Pollaro
The U.S. government is quite literally out of control.
I’m not talking about a government which shows an almost total disregard for the U.S. Constitution. I’m not talking about elitist politicians in Congress who think they know what’s best for you, who think it’s their job to take care of you from cradle to grave, whether you like it or not. I’m not even talking about an administration whose policies sometimes appear to have more in common with the command and control societies of Benito Mussolini or Karl Marx than they do with the freedom loving societies of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
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Friday, January 22, 2010
Los Angeles Heading for Bankruptcy, Mayor Tries to Prevent Bond Market Panic / Economics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
When a politician says something is "not an option" that generally means it is (or soon will be). Sometimes it means it is all but certain. With that in mind, please consider Mayor Villaraigosa says no bankruptcy for the city.
Friday, January 15, 2010
US Debt: Look At It This Way / Economics / US Debt
By: Adrian_Ash
Seven ways to put the United States' national debt into perspective...
The SHEER SIZE of the US government's debt hasn't put off new bond buyers so far in 2010.
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Friday, January 15, 2010
Ballooning U.S. Treasury Deficits, It Takes both Outlays and Receipts to Tango / Economics / US Debt
By: Paul_L_Kasriel
On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury reported a record cumulative deficit over the 12 months ended December 2009 of $1.472 trillion (see Chart 1). Although the editorial board of the WSJ surely will rail against exploding federal spending, it will probably fail to mention another key driver of ballooning federal deficits - collapsing federal receipts.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
U.S. Dollar and Treasury Bonds At Risk Following Fannie and Freddie Debt Monetization / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Jim_Willie_CB
The background noise has been considerable. The US Congress, the august body that often passes legislation without reading it, evaluates a new initiative to reinstitute the Glass Steagall Act. Pass it, don't read it! Great idea! In the wisdom from post-Depression seven decades ago, the same Congress imposed firewall separation among the commercial banks, the brokerage houses, and the insurance firms in order to prevent systemic financial sector failure. That is precisely what happened in the last two years, without proper recognition or diagnosis, except by this and some analysts. Insolvent systems do not spring back to life with grandiose infusions of phony money and complete covers for fraud. They remain insolvent.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
United States Debt Ridden Road to Perdition / Economics / US Debt
By: James_Quinn
Christmas is a time when kids tell Santa what they want and adults pay for it. Deficits are when adults tell the government what they want - and their kids pay for it. - Richard Lamm
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Bank of England Quantitative Easing Gilts Market Smoke and Mirrors Dangerous Game / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Nadeem_Walayat
The Bank of England's actions throughout 2008 and 2009 have shown that it's primary objective is to massage the UK Government Bond market. The evidence for this is in the fact that the vast majority of the £200 billion of Q,E, has been utilised for the purpose of monetizing government debt i.e. buying gilts to prevent Gilt auction failures and higher yields.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
U.S. Congress Congress Increases Debt Limit To 24 Quadrillion Dollars / Politics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
Congress did not really increase the debt ceiling to $24 quadrillion but it may as well have. If every increase is a foregone conclusion, then it is a waste of time debating approvals.
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Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Did the Fed Monetize by Stealth? / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Andrew_Butter
This is a chart of the Fed’s balance sheet that I lifted from an article by Tim
Iacono: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article15004.html.
Monday, December 21, 2009
U.S. Debt Totals $133 Trillion, China Prime Beneficiary of Fed Money Printing / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Larry_Edelson
Last week I suggested you to take some hefty profits off the table: Specifically, up to a 91.69% gain on the ProShares Ultra Real Estate ETF (URE), recommended in my June 29 column. That’s almost double your money if you acted on it, in a tad under six months. Not bad!
What’s more, it comes on top of six other recommendations I issued in this column — and closed out — since April, five of them with gains as high as 68.31%, and just one loser!
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Obama Calls for More Leverage and More Debt On Path Towards Financial Ruin / Economics / US Debt
By: Bob_Chapman
Congressional appropriators agreed Tuesday night to give civilian federal employees a 2 percent pay increase -- which includes a locality pay increase President Obama didn't want.
Government workers will get a 1.5 percent nationwide increase in base pay and a 0.5 percent average increase in locality pay. The final agreement goes against the wishes of Obama, who called for a flat 2 percent jump and no locality increase.
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Friday, December 11, 2009
Debt and the Blowout Federal Deficit, Economic Review of 2009 / Economics / US Debt
By: Andy_Sutton
In an effort to get out ahead of the rush of year-end summaries, commentaries, and reviews, we’re going to try something a little bit different this year and leave 20 days of 2009 on the table. The themes discussed at the outset of 2009 were all longer-term in nature anyway, and it is unlikely that anything major will happen to unsettle those themes during the last few days of the year. Incidentally, a buffalo nickel goes to the first person to email in if I happen to be wrong on that last assertion. So without further delay..
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
U.S. Social Security Will Go Bankrupt in 2010 / Economics / US Debt
By: Gary_North
For the third time in my life, the Social Security System will go belly-up.
The first time was in 1977 – well, almost. To head off the bust, Jimmy Carter got Congress to pass a major FICA tax increase – sorry, "contribution" increase – in order to save Social Security. The rate would be hiked in phases from 2% to 6.15% (times two: employee and employer). He promised: "Now this legislation will guarantee that from 1980 to the year 2030, the Social Security funds will be sound." (http://tinyurl.com/ybksxs4)
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Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Debt Fuelled Zombie Capitalism, Bernanke "Marching Ignorantly Forward" / Economics / US Debt
By: Mike_Shedlock
Australian economist has another blockbuster post on the dynamics of debt deflation and the Great Financial Collapse. Please consider Debtwatch No 41, December 2009: 4 Years of Calling the GFC.
Read full article... Read full article...During a debt-driven financial bubble, which is the obvious precursor to a debt-deflation, rising levels of debt propel aggregate demand well above what it would otherwise be, leading to a boom in both the real economy and asset markets. But this process also adds to the debt burden on the economy, especially when the debt is used to finance speculation on asset prices rather than to expand production–since this increases the debt burden without adding to productive capacity.
Monday, November 30, 2009
U.S. Debt, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly in Real Time / Economics / US Debt
By: Frank_Holmes
Anyone who has visited New York has probably seen The National Debt Clock, a digital readout of how much the federal government owes its creditors. The speed at which that number grows is daunting.
Monday, November 23, 2009
From Zombie Banks to Corporations to All of America / Politics / US Debt
By: James_Quinn
The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them." But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6
Monday, November 23, 2009
U.S. Stages Fake Coup to Wipe Out National Debt / Economics / US Debt
By: Submissions
Congress says that with no way to actually pay back our debts, faking a coup to eliminate financial obligations is the best plan for the U.S. economy.
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Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Hidden Costs of Too Much Government Debt / Economics / US Debt
By: Mike_Larson
This week was a fascinating one on the geopolitical front. President Barack Obama travelled to China in what was billed as a major diplomatic trip.
The idea? Try to reach common ground on several fronts, including global nuclear proliferation, environmental issues, and especially China’s currency …
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