Category: US Debt
The analysis published under this category are as follows.Saturday, January 29, 2011
Debt and Deficits, “The New Humpty Dumpty” / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Irony is a wonderful thing sometimes. It has a habit of framing things exactly the way they need to be framed. Unfortunately, this is a knife that cuts both ways and irony sometimes points out awful realities. I am not a political animal per se, but I find it incredibly ironic how the avalanche of bad news on the deficit, Social Security, and essentially most of the things wrong with our economy was saved until after Tuesday’s SOTU speech. Make no mistake, this has happened before, and each time I find the timing to be absolutely incredible. It is very clear at least at this point that our leaders prefer to pay lip service to the idea of reducing the deficit rather than actually trying to rectify the situation. I say this because, with very few exceptions, the rhetoric centers around a silver bullet solution that will allow programs and spending to remain pretty much on the same path as what got us here, but at the same time, ‘fixing’ things.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
Should Congress Raise the U.S. Debt Ceiling? / Interest-Rates / US Debt
At current rates of spending, the federal government may bump up against its debt limit as early as March. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warns that it will be "catastrophic to the economy" if Congress doesn't increase Uncle Sam's credit limit. Writers in conservative outlets call for Republicans to use this opportunity to extract significant spending cuts before extending the limit. And some extreme libertarians argue that the debt ceiling shouldn't be raised, because a government default would be a good thing for the American people.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
U.S. Federal Budget Deficit Climbing Dangerously Higher on Continued 2011 Government Spending / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Kerri Shannon writes: On the heels of U.S. President Barack Obama's State of the Union address - during which the commander in chief highlighted the need for investment in innovation - a steep federal budget deficit projection yesterday (Wednesday) showed the harsh reality of the U.S. government's spending spree.
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Thursday, January 27, 2011
U.S. Debt Crisis, Stay Ahead of the Curve by Moving / Politics / US Debt
A growing minority of the American public is beginning to catch on to the meaning of the Federal government's deficits and the Federal Reserve's QE2. The voters did not understand QE1 in October 2008.
We are beginning to see videos lampooning tax rates. This humor is spreading to Europe. Some choice ones are here.
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Sunday, January 23, 2011
Q.E. Policy Meets the Tea Party / Interest-Rates / US Debt
This week's letter is a result of two lengthy conversations I had today, which have me in a reflective mode. Plus, I finished the last, final edits of my book, all of which is causing me to mull over the unsustainability of the US fiscal situation. There is a true Endgame here, and it may happen before we are ready.
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Saturday, January 22, 2011
Fed Traders Buying Billions in U.S. Debt, Nation Risks Credit Downgrade / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Fed Traders Buying Billions in U.S. Debt, Nation Risks Credit DowngradeFed Traders Buying Billions in U.S. Debt, Nation Risks Credit Downgrade
At the same time, Moody's and Standard & Poor's warned the triple-A sovereign debt rating of the United States is in jeopardy of being downgraded if there continues to be a deterioration in the negative fundamentals of the United States, including the trillion-dollar federal-budget deficits President Obama has run in the last two years.
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Thursday, January 20, 2011
U.S. Citiies Going Bankrupt, Defaulting on Debt, Bernanke Will Not Rescue Them! / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Vallejo is using federal bankruptcy laws to stick it to unsecured creditors. Please consider Vallejo Plan Would Give Unsecured Creditors 5 to 20 Cents on the Dollar
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Saturday, January 15, 2011
The Symbolic U.S. Debt Ceiling / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Democratic politics relies on deception. Without deception of the voters on a comprehensive scale, there could be no politics above the local level, where people know the deceivers personally and are therefore less easy to fool.
Basic to deception are symbols. Symbols serve politicians in much the same way as a red cape serves a matador.
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Thursday, January 13, 2011
Federal Government Budget - Latest Numbers and Tally of Stimulus Package / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The cumulative budget deficit of the federal government for the twelve months ended December 2010 stood at $1.277 trillion, down from a high of $1.478 trillion in the twelve months ended February 2010.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Federal Debt of the United States - Q and A (Part II) / Interest-Rates / US Debt
[Part I, question 1-3] published on Jan 11, 2011.
4. Will Congress entertain not raising the statutory debt limit?
Congress will increase the statutory debt limit prior to the deadline. There is not even an inkling of doubt about this eventuality. But, unfavorable posturing by politicians, prior to taking the appropriate action, is nearly certain and tentative market concern will prevail. The terms of the deal the Republicans will strike to raise the debt limit is the source of uncertainty not whether they will raise the borrowing limit. The Treasury Department estimates that the national debt will hit the statutory limit between March 31 and May 16. In the meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Geithner has indicated that the Treasury could take "exceptional actions" to delay the deadline by suspending the sale of state and local government securities, which would buy time for a few weeks.
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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Federal Debt of the United States - Q and A (Part I) / Interest-Rates / US Debt
We have encountered questions about debt of the United States in the past few weeks and thought a Q and A about debt would be handy. This is the first of two installments of noteworthy highlights about federal debt.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Budget Battles Ahead / Politics / US Debt
William Poole writes: I began writing this note on New Year’s Day; the holiday season is over all too early for me as I contemplate the coming year. Along with other investors, I have many worries, but at the top of my list is the budget battle that will be fought in Washington, every state capital and most capitals of high-income countries abroad. As I finish this note, Republicans are now in charge of the House of Representatives.
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Monday, January 10, 2011
Geithner Says the US Government Is Bankrupt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The U.S. government is insolvent. Who says so? Timothy F. Geithner, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.
Geithner sent a letter to Congress on Jan. 6, 2011 asking for the debt limit to be raised. If it is not raised, he warned, the U.S. will default on its debt. In his words:
Never in our history has Congress failed to increase the debt limit when necessary. Failure to raise the limit would precipitate a default by the United States."
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Saturday, January 08, 2011
Reckless U.S. Deficit Spending May Reap Inflation Whirlwind / Interest-Rates / US Debt
Bill Gross, the PIMCO Money Manager, to whom it is often worth listening, cautioned this week that our nations leaders really do not know where they are going. They are mired in the fiscal quicksands of perpetual trillion dollar deficits. I believe as he does that there will be more agony ahead after the present euphoria in the equity markets. Thus I say, “Caveat Emptor-Let the Buyer Beware!” Our leaders are paying scant attention to the “Buck” that is being passed on to our children who are going to be stuck with the bills that we are dumping on them. Today I do not see anybody around to weep for our infants. As the reporter covering the burning of the Hindenburg shouted in horror, “O the humanity!”
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Thursday, January 06, 2011
A Day in the Life of the National Debt / Interest-Rates / US Debt
As an example of the kind of sheer monetary insanity that is happening all around us and that is going to destroy the United States of America, and probably most of the world, too, the national debt of the United States of America hit a new, all-time record: An astonishing $14,025,215,218,708.52, which can be more conveniently referred to as $14.025 trillion, and which works out to a debt of $140,252.00 for every non-government worker in the Whole Freaking Country (WFC), the interest on which (at 5%) is $7,012.60 for each of those selfsame non-government workers. Per year!
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Thursday, January 06, 2011
Republican's Play Chicken with the U.S. Debt Ceiling / Politics / US Debt
President Obama is very concerned that Republicans might "Play Chicken" with the debt ceiling. The president is so concerned his aids are sending out dire warnings about dollar defaults and "catastrophic impacts" to the economy.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Rising Interest Rates Reveal Debt Reality / Interest-Rates / US Debt
The Fed's lucky streak of luring bond investors with low interest rates may be drawing to a close. Nevertheless, the extended period of low borrowing costs has bred a new breed of investor. To the bulls and bears, we can now add the ostriches - those who bury their heads in the sand of declining debt service ratios while refusing to face up to intractable levels of total US government debt. If these ostriches were to actually look at the numbers, they would realize that it is their investments which are made of sand.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
Debt Bubble Chronicles: We Are Now Paying for the Destruction of the US Dollar and Economy… Literally / Interest-Rates / US Debt
We just hit another milestone in insanity.
I’ve written before that thanks to its QE lite and QE 2 programs, the Fed is now officially the single, largest owner of US debt. However, even that nonsense pales in comparison to the Fed’s latest accomplishment, that of owning over $1 TRILLION in US debt.
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Thursday, December 30, 2010
US Cities at Risk of Bankruptcy / Interest-Rates / US Debt
PRESS TV writes: Next to the housing crisis, some economists say cities declaring bankruptcy is the biggest threat to the U.S. economy in 2011 More than 100 cities could go bust in the new year derailing the economy in America.
In Michigan, a small city called Hamtramck says it only has funds to operate until March first. City officials have slashed money for boarding up abandoned houses, cutting grass and no money has been set aside to plow snow from the streets.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
U.S. State Budget Crisis: Deadbeat States Need to Stop Spending, Start Mending / Politics / US Debt
Kerri Shannon writes: State governments are broke, and things are going to get worse before they get better - a whole lot worse.
Look at California. It's facing a $19 billion budget deficit next year and had to raise tuition in the state university system by 32% to try and collect revenue.
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