11/2: Could America Go Broke?
Posted by Editor on November 2, 2009 · 4 Comments
Robert J. Samuelson: The idea that the government of a major advanced country would default on its debt — that is, tell lenders that it won’t repay them all they’re owed — was, until recently, a preposterous proposition. Argentina and Russia have stiffed their creditors, but surely the likes of the United States, Japan or Britain wouldn’t. Well, it’s still a very, very long shot, but it’s no longer entirely unimaginable. Governments of rich countries are borrowing so much that it’s conceivable that one day the twin assumptions underlying their burgeoning debt (that lenders will continue to lend and that governments will continue to pay) might collapse.
What happens then?
We are poorer than church mice, but too dumb to know it yet! We’re being lied to and manipulated, but we’re getting smarter every day. Save up, store up and get ready for the battle of the century, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
Could America Go Broke? I get the feeling we already are broke, we just haven’t stopped borrowing yet.
That will be seen as a ‘wonderful rosey past’ if hyperinflation hits.
There are limits to the debt you can absorb without having a comprehensive plan to get out of it. We’ve heard lots of plans built around idealism yet I’ve not seen a single plan that actually maps a way out of the mess we are headed into.
President Bush failed to have an appropriate exit strategy for Iraq and Afanistan. The former may or may not be successful in the long term. The latter is up to the current President to ‘fix’ since he felt he could take it on. It’s his to win or lose.
The current President does NOT have an exit strategy for our economy, for the debt he’s piling up, or for the future beyond ideas he’s spoken about. THAT is what makes me nervous in the face of the mounting debt load. There is no plan to get out…
yes this is very serious issue and i think if we do not do something very soon it will be too hard to get out of the bind we are in already our dollar only buys 67% of 1 euro. think about that for a moment.