Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
The Relationship Between High Total Public Debt and Interest Rates / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: John_Mauldin
The relationship between high total public debt and interest rates is controversial (to some); and in today’s Outside the Box Van Hoisington and Dr. Lacy Hunt of Hoisington Investment Management tackle the subject head-on, in their “Quarterly Review and Outlook” for Q2 2012. They bring important new evidence to the debate, citing three academic studies (including an April 2012 paper coauthored by Rogoff and Reinhart) and an historical retrospective that focuses on the debt-disequilibrium panic years of 1873 and 1929 in the US and 1989 in Japan. In their view, the onus of responsibility for the “Panic of 2008” falls on the sometimes-slumping shoulders of the Federal Reserve, for making money and credit too easily available, and then “[failing] to use regulatory powers to check the unsound lending and the concomitant buildup of non-productive debt.”
Monday, July 23, 2012
Dark Days Ahead, American's Are Armed and Ready / Politics / US Debt
By: Andy_Sutton
After spending an hour on Joe Cristiano’s Liberty Talk Radio program the other night, I was filled with an excitement that I haven’t felt since I posted my first ‘Two Cents’ piece back in early 2006. I got to thinking about all the progress that we together have made in the past half dozen years regarding the public’s knowledge of the causes of the financial crisis, to the role of the federal reserve in our economic fate. The great thing is that outside the political realm, this massive outpouring of information and coalescence of support has basically been leaderless, which is exactly what is needed for a meaningful change to be made.
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Disastrous 40-Year Debt Supercycle Is Coming To an End / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: LewRockwell
David A. Stockman writes:The next Casey Research Summit, cohosted by Sprott, Inc. and titled Navigating the Politicized Economy, will feature another former White House official who is speaking out against irresponsible government spending: David Walker, the United States Comptroller General from 1998 to 2008. Joining him will be a blue-ribbon panel of other financial experts, including top market strategist Donald Coxe, legendary bond investor Lacy Hunt, and investing legends Doug Casey, Rick Rule, and Eric Sprott... and that's just for openers. Together, they'll help you understand where our politicized economy is today, where it's going, and how to profit from the whole mess.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
U.S. Cities Going Bankrupt / Politics / US Debt
By: Stephen_Lendman
In past decades, many US municipalities declared bankruptcy. Since 1981, 42 cases were filed. Ten came in the past four years.
Given hard times getting harder, what's happening now is unprecedented since the Great Depression.
Cities occasionally declare bankruptcy. In America, they're coming more often. Others in dire financial straits may follow.
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Monday, July 16, 2012
What Every American Should Know About the National Debt / Economics / US Debt
By: LewRockwell
The U.S. government has stolen $15,876,457,645,132.66 from future generations of Americans, and we continue to add well over a hundred million dollars to that total every single day day. The 15 trillion dollar binge that we have been on over the past 30 years has fueled the greatest standard of living the world has ever seen, but this wonderful prosperity that we have been enjoying has been a lie. It isn't real. We have been living way above our means for so long that we do not have any idea of what "normal" actually is anymore. But every debt addict hits "the wall" eventually, and the same thing is going to happen to us as a nation. At some point the weight of our national debt is going to cause our financial system to implode, and every American will feel the pain of that collapse. Under our current system, there is no mathematical way that this debt can ever be paid back. The road that we are on will either lead to default or to hyperinflation. We have piled up the biggest debt in the history of the world, and if there are future generations of Americans they will look back and curse us for what we did to them. We like to think of ourselves as much wiser than previous generations of Americans, but the truth is that we have been so foolish that it is hard to put it into words.
Friday, July 06, 2012
U.S. Falling into a Liquidity Trap, Leading to a Japan Style Economic Depression / Economics / US Debt
By: Brady_Willett
Central bank printing and excessive government borrowing are two themes that need no introduction. The U.S. consumer could become a source of stability for the financial world again (well get to this). And oh how it hurts to wake up in the morning when you are old. What follows is the cornucopia of negativity that can be unfurled when looking at the financial world today a world that is only out-daunted by one thing: how the world will look tomorrow.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
U.S. Debt Crisis, This is Not America / Economics / US Debt
By: Raul_I_Meijer
Over the past few days, Henry Blodget at Business Insider posted a number of graphs, here and here, which depict something about the US economy that everybody knows to some extent or another, but that most of us won't have let thoroughly sink in. For some because the consequences are too opaque, for others because they are too scary. But make no mistake: we can only continue to ignore or misinterpret them at our own peril. And even then it's terribly late in the game.
Monday, June 18, 2012
The American Debt Crisis, How to Save Your Money And Your Life / Personal_Finance / US Debt
By: Casey_Research
Doug Casey, Casey Research writes: I think there are really only two good reasons for having a significant amount of money: To maintain a high standard of living and to ensure your personal freedom. There are other, lesser reasons, of course, including: to prove you can do it, to compensate for failings in other things, to impress others, to leave a legacy, to help perpetuate your genes, or maybe because you just can't think of something better to do with your time.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
U.S. Government Debt Goes From Frying Pan to Fire / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Andy_Sutton
This morning, the Treasury Department almost gleefully and proudly announced that foreign holdings of US Debt had hit a record high during the month of April and that bond heavyweight China had upped its holdings after trimming for two straight months. This dovetails nicely with a story that was published earlier this week about the federal reserve and its own holdings of US Debt, which have increased over 450% in the past three years. And no, that is not a typo. The federal reserve now holds over $1.6 Trillion in USGovt debt. Obviously the establishment is thrilled with these developments because it helps maintain the status quo of the dollar standard era. However, there are some serious ramifications that few are paying attention to and are getting almost zero coverage from traditional media outlets. From the AP this morning:
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Growth in U.S. National Debt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: BATR
The one inescapable drag on the economy and every American taxpayer or government dependant is the interest obligation paid on the national debt. Indebtedness is nothing new to this country, but the inability to service the public debt stretches over the last half century. This trend is so disturbing that politicians spend every waking hour avoiding the consequences of the ultimate outcome, the demise of the currency. The reserve currency status that has allowed for effortless deficit spending has a day of reckoning. The final collapse of the global empire and superpower will smell more of financial evaporation than of a military defeat.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Ten Ways the US Is Worse Than It Was In 1947 / Politics / US Debt
By: Jeff_Berwick
Gary North is an icon in the Austro-libertarian world, and writes more in a day than most will write in their lifetimes. The majority of what he says is excellent and it is well worth your time listening to whatever he has to say.
In his recent article, entitled, "Why We Are Not On The Road to Serfdom", he takes a slightly different perspective than TDV on the state of liberty in the USSA. In it, he makes many good points and tries to lay out the case that because the US Government is on the verge of financial collapse, we should be optimistic about the future. He opens his argument with the following statement: "the federal government is no deeper into our pockets than it was in 1947," and presents us with the following chart:
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Saturday, May 26, 2012
U.S. Muni Bond Market Debt Default Tsunami / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: EWI
The front edge of the coming bond default tsunami is clearly visible in our discussion of the burgeoning credit crisis in Europe. Less publicised, but every bit as important, is the debt burden that is smothering U.S. municipalities. CTC warned that muni bond tax-exemptions would "ultimately trap investors into a risky position," and EWFF has continually stated that defaults will rise as cushy municipal pensions and health benefits garden a bigger share of a decreasing tax base.
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Don't Worry About Your Kids' Economic Future, Worry about Yours / Politics / US Debt
By: Gary_North
I read that Americans who have spoken to poll-takers express the fear that their children will not live as well as they have. Here is an example. The poll was taken in October 2011.
Read full article... Read full article...More than two-thirds of voters say the United States is declining, and a clear majority think the next generation will be worse off than this one, according to the results of a new poll commissioned by The Hill.
Friday, May 25, 2012
U.S. Government Budget Deficit Sorting Out America's Fiscal Cliff Issue / Politics / US Debt
By: Asha_Bangalore
Under current law, the federal budget deficit in fiscal year 2013 will show a drastic decline from fiscal year 2012 as a result of scheduled increases in taxes and reductions in government spending. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the federal budget deficit of $1.17 trillion in fiscal 2012 will shrink to $612 billion in fiscal 2013. This sharp reduction of the federal budget deficit is referred to as the “fiscal cliff” in the financial media and macroeconomic discussions. The economic impact of these likely changes in the federal budget deficit is the subject of intense debate at the present time. The objective here is to highlight the impending changes in federal taxes and spending, with the help of CBO’s summary presented in Table 1, and attempt to understand the economic consequences of these changes.
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Student Loans, The Next Bubble? / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Andy_Sutton
Since the housing bubble burst spectacularly in late 2007, many analysts have been actively seeking out the next likely explosion. Rest assured, it will be related to debt in some way. US Treasuries, credit cards, and potentially another disaster on Wall Street thanks to over-leveraging have all been mentioned as potential leading candidates. However, there is another bubble out there and it too is debt related. This one, in my opinion, has far greater consequences because it involves a group that is the least financially able to deal with the ramifications. I’m talking about student loans and the massive bubble that has been expanding for at least the past decade.
Sunday, April 22, 2012
More Americans Are Sneaking Out of the Subprime State / Politics / US Debt
By: Bill_Bonner
Memories take time. Like history. Or wine. Or cement.
At first, they are loose, fluid…and watery. Then, over time, they dry up…and develop more body…more shape…more substance.
Our recollections from our trip to Argentina are still congealing…setting up like a stone wall. We’ll show it to you in the days ahead.
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Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Falling Standard of Living for Average American's, Debt/Income/Productivity / Economics / US Debt
By: John_Mauldin
Lacy Hunt kicks things off with a bang in Hoisington's Quarterly Review and Outlook, this week's Outside the Box:
"The standard of living of the average American continues to fall."
The reason, in a word: debt. Lacy explains what happens:
"Efforts by fiscal and monetary authorities to sustain growth by further debt accumulation may produce some short-term benefit. Sadly, these interludes fade quickly as the debt becomes more destabilizing. The net result of increased indebtedness then becomes the opposite of what policymakers intend when they promote economic growth by either borrowing funds for increased government expenditures or encourage consumers to borrow with artificial and temporary incentives."
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Friday, March 30, 2012
U.S. Debt, Deficit, Economy and Financial NO SPIN Zone / Economics / US Debt
By: Ty_Andros
As leviathan government, Central Bankers and the welfare states battle Mother Nature and Darwin, the stakes for the global banksters and elites could not be higher. Governments in the US and Europe are striving to place debt and legal shackles on those they pretend to serve and working for the interests of banksters, power-hungry public servants and entrenched government bureaucrats against that of their own constituents.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
The National Debt Clock is Ticking / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Mario_Innecco
U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner said yesterday that the U.S. won't hit the debt limit (ceiling) unitl late in the year. Zerohedge has projected that the debt limit of $16'394 billion will be hit on September 14th, 2012. Presently the National Debt is at $15'596 billion according to the debt clock.
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Wednesday, March 21, 2012
US Public Debt Growing at Unsustainable Rate / Interest-Rates / US Debt
By: Colin_Twiggs
We often blame Fed monetary policy for the GFC, with interest rates at exceptionally low levels leading to "Greenspan's bubble." Treasury was just as culpable, however, with the massive 2004-2005 surge in public debt flooding the market with liquidity. The repeat in 2008-2011 was more justifiable: the spike in public debt was necessary to offset the sharp decline in private (non-financial) debt which would have caused a deflationary spiral. The effect was to smooth out the fall in total domestic debt (public and private) and create a relatively "soft" landing for the economy.