http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/debt/ en-us Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:09:51 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415145/posts Sprott Asset Management has "pulled forward" something I intended to cover in my "year end review" Ticker but since he's put it out there I think I need to cover it now: As a thought experiment, we separated all the various US Treasury owners and asked our readers whether each group could afford to increase their 2009 treasury purchases by 200%. In the end, we surmised that most groups couldn’t, and prepared our readers for the worst. Almost seven months later, however, nothing particularly bad has happened on the US debt front. There have been no failed auctions, no sovereign... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415145/posts#comment Sat, 26 Dec 2009 01:09:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415030/posts In nearly its final act of the year, the U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a $290 billion increase in the nation's borrowing limit, a move that sets up a contentious debate about the federal government's largesse early in 2010. The additional $290 billion in borrowing ability lifts the total public debt the federal government can hold to around $12.4 trillion and will allow the government to keep borrowing through February. The House passed the measure last week. The Senate vote was 60-39, and was almost exclusively along party lines. Generally a vote on raising the debt limit requires only a... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2415030/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:56:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412879/posts Socialism has come to mean many different things to many people, but regardless how it is defined, in the months immediately ahead it will be put to a rigorous test.  The test will be visible to everyone as countries around the globe run out of money and confront overwhelming debts that cannot be repaid as well as other wide-ranging financial promises that can no longer be met.  In short, the ideological bankruptcy of socialism will be laid bare by government insolvency.It had to come sooner or later.  The reasons are not hard to understand. The ideological bankruptcy is neatly captured... kitco http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412879/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:51:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414860/posts http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414860/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 07:50:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414742/posts After reading headlines such as "Congress raises debt ceiling to new record high" and "No county could afford to purchase US debt" I was prompted to do a little research to try and get an idea of how much a Trillion really is. The current US National Debt is approximately $12.1 Trillion ($12,162,000,000,000.00) and growing. (Source: National Debt Clock) How much is that? 1,000 = 1 Thousand 1,000 Thousands = 1,000,000 = 1 Million 1,000 Million = 1,000,000,000 = 1 Billion (or a thousand Million) 1,000 Billion = 1,000,000,000,000 = 1 Trillion (or a thousand Billion or a million Millions)... Self http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414742/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 23:57:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414579/posts This editorial page has for years criticized the dishonest budgets coming out of Sacramento. State leaders have been unwilling to do anything about California’s structural budget deficit but make it worse by pushing costly bond projects that add to long-term debt. This reckless practice is reflected in state debt service payments, which have gone up 143 percent the past decade. Treasurer Bill Lockyer and Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor both recently warned the Legislature that this debt binge will soon cause huge headaches in crafting a general fund budget, since debt service costs alone are on track to eat up more... San Diego Union - Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414579/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:19:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414546/posts In nearly its final act of the year, the US Senate on Thursday approved a $290 billion increase in the nation's borrowing limit, a move that sets up a contentious debate about the federal government's largesse early in 2010. The additional $290 billion in borrowing ability lifts the total public debt the federal government can hold to around $12.4 trillion and will allow the government to keep borrowing through February. The House passed the measure last week. The Senate vote was 60-39, and was almost exclusively along party lines. Generally a vote on raising the debt limit requires only a... The New Media Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414546/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 17:18:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414407/posts The Senate on Thursday cleared a $290 billion debt-limit increase, giving the federal government two more months of borrowing authority. http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/73543-senate-votes-to-raise-debt-limit-by-290-billion http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414407/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:27:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413999/posts HSBC Group Chair Stephen Green recently sat down with German magazine Der Spiegel and talked about the future of the world's economy, the moral responsibility of bankers, and his Christain faith (he's an Anglican minister). It's one of the more honest accounts we've read of the crisis from the perspective of a banking chief. Among other things, he calls the period leading up to the crash -- characterized by huge profits through the sale of overly complex instruments -- 'disgraceful'. Der Spiegel: SPIEGEL: Is the crisis already over? Green: In the financial sector the worst is behind us. But the... The Business Insider http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413999/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:48:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413767/posts If governments continue to pile on more and more debt, when will they reach the tipping point? The Greeks appear to be close to the tipping point, and it is only a matter of time before other European countries, and eventually even the United States, begin their fiscal death spiral. The Greek government's unwillingness to make the hard choices necessary to put its fiscal house in order in the past few weeks has caused investors to demand a 2.5 percent premium on its government-issued Eurobonds over those issued by the German government. First, a little background. Eurozone governments have a... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413767/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:53:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413752/posts The United States Economy has become like those sub-prime mortgages that almost brought down the banking system last year. We have borrowed more than we can afford but as long as interest rates stay low, we will be able to make payments. Once rates go up, the federal government will have to "default on its homes." Even the NY Times is predicting economic problems for America: ... With the national debt now topping $12 trillion, the White House estimates that the government’s tab for servicing the debt will exceed $700 billion a year in 2019, up from $202 billion this... NY POST/The Lid http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2413752/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:35:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413622/posts Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But he only comes for kids -- not for governments that have bragged, borrowed and spent their way into bankruptcy. Two Thousand Ten is going to belong to the Grinch. For spendthrift governments around the world, the new year's going to bring massive defaults. The new globalization may be the globalization of a second wave of financial crises. The world economy is not convalescing. It's just been pumped full of unaffordable medicines. Borrowing madly, countries as diverse as Greece and Dubai have been buying time, not fiscal health. NY Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413622/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:32:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413385/posts WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday set a Christmas Eve vote on final congressional approval of a bill to provide a two-month increase in the federal debt limit. The measure, passed last week by the House of Representatives, would increase the debt limit, now at $12.1 trillion, by $290 billion. Senate Democrats may approve the measure largely by themselves because most, if not all, Republicans are expected to vote against it, Republican aides said. Democrats control the Senate, 60-40. reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2413385/posts#comment Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:06:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413336/posts The next generation has a message for Obama! Stayfree http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2413336/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 22:40:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412739/posts If you are under 30, you really need to read this column and pass it on to your friends. Your elected officials are dooming you to a new sort of bondage, a form of 21st Century slavery, if you will. First, some background. On October 16, 1854, Abraham Lincoln, then a former one-term Congressman, gave a three hour speech in Peoria, Illinois in which he decried the extension of slavery into the territories. The Republican Party was barely three months old. Lincoln warned that slavery was a “monstrous injustice” based on the raw principle of “self-interest” at odds with the... Big Government / Breitbart http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412739/posts#comment Tue, 22 Dec 2009 04:18:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412236/posts In the panic following the insolvencies of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the American taxpayer was stampeded into bailing out Wall Street by acquiescing to Washington's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in order to prevent the collapse of our financial system. American International Group Inc. was at the center of the storm with its $1.5 trillion book of credit default swaps (CDS). Inexplicably, after passage, TARP was directed at banks rather than troubled assets - almost like a bait-and-switch plan. Now, a little more than a year later, TARP inspector Neil M. Barofsky... Washington Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412236/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:31:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412223/posts Go ahead folks - tell me how we can simply ignore this. How we can pretend that the outstanding debt does not have to come back down to reasonable levels. That these levels are "reasonable" - and that these rates of growth are "reasonable." This is the "magic of compounding" writ large - and in a fashion that is going to inflict severe pain on our population - and the longer we wait to deal with it, the worse it will be. Bernanke, who was at The Fed during Greenspan's time there, should have used his "education" - his claimed... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2412223/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:11:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411983/posts Uncle Obama has gotten ahold of your credit card. And he's amassing charges on it that - you - not he - are liable for. You can call the fraud line, you can call the police, you can call any politician or government agency, and they will all tell you the same thing. Shut up and pay up.   Since misery loves company, you might feel better knowing that you're not the only one being extorted. Uncle Obama and his buddies have the credit and debit cards of every man woman and child in America. And they're charging up a... The Woodward Report http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411983/posts#comment Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:33:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411878/posts One mistake could cost Trina Lee her Christmas. Things have been tight for the Arizona-based nursing assistant since she got laid off two years ago and suffered some medical problems that have kept her from working full-time. [...] Earlier this month, she was feeling temporarily flush because she has prepaid most of her bills and figured the rest of her December income from child support and a part-time job could be spent on Christmas gifts. So she splurged on a $65 meal with her mom and brother, knowing that it was possible that this one meal could overdraft her checking... Los Angeles Times / latimes.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411878/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 22:45:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411845/posts Small Business Tax & ToilSmall business owners, like myself, pay twice as much in Social Security and Medicare Taxes as regular employees. Yet when we ask for a payroll tax cut on our own pay, what we get from the government is a crackdown on regional banks to give us more loans. Aside from the fact that 140 of these banks have failed since January 16, 2009 (here), what Obama's Cluelessian economists fail to understand is that wealth is not created through amassing debt.If Obama wants to run the Federal Government based on the myth that wealth is created through... Natural Born Conservative Blog http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2411845/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 21:35:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411630/posts The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is the slave of the lender. (Proverbs 22:7 ESV)In the Old Testament book of Proverbs, King Solomon details the differences in thought, word, and deed between a wise man and a fool. In addressing the foolishness associated with borrowing money, he makes clear the relationship between debt and servitude: No man can truly be free when he is bound by financial indebtedness to another. It's clear, however, that the danger of debt is something a majority of the American people — including members of Congress and our President — have yet... Renew America http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411630/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:57:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411572/posts Obama Shatters Spending Record for First-Year Presidents FOXNews.com The federal government spent $3.5 trillion during President Obama's first year in office. This far exceeds the spending for any other first-year president.... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/11/24/obama-shatters-spending-record-year-presidents/ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2411572/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:48:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411533/posts There Is No Way Out Of This Box....Friday, December 18. 2009 Posted by Karl Denninger in Macro Economics at 18:31... that does not involve serious pain. Go ahead folks - tell me how we can simply ignore this. How we can pretend that the outstanding debt does not have to come back down to reasonable levels. That these levels are "reasonable" - and that these rates of growth are "reasonable." This is the "magic of compounding" writ large - and in a fashion that is going to inflict severe pain on our population - and the longer we wait to... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411533/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:33:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411530/posts Rule By Outlaws, Spending Insanity, The Second Wave, Dreamliner Lessons and More! by Addison Wiggin & Ian Mathias * Treasury bends laws on maximum debt, dodges bullet with “extraordinary accounting tools” * Mind-boggling government spending rundown: $1.8 trillion approved in 24 hours * Why the second wave of the housing bust might crash ashore ahead of schedule * Byron King with lessons from the Dreamliner launch for the everyday investor * A reader asks, “Enough criticism, what would you do?” Our response, below Technically speaking, the U.S. government is now illegitimate. Not in the way most people use that word…... Agora Financial http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411530/posts#comment Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:08:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411280/posts Bankruptcy And Fiscal Collapse,Global Economic Crisis Tipping Point Forecast For Spring 2010 Economics / Global Debt Crisis Dec 19, 2009 - 07:04 AM By: Global_Research LEAP/E2020 believes that the global systemic crisis will experience a new tipping point from Spring 2010. Indeed, at that time, the public finances of the major Western countries are going to become unmanageable, as it will simultaneously become clear that new support measures for the economy are needed because of the failure of the various stimuli in 2009 (1), and that the size of budget deficits preclude any significant new expenditures. If this public deficit... The Market Oracle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2411280/posts#comment Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:47:31 GMT