The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #114650 Message #2456987
Posted By: freda underhill
04-Oct-08 - 06:53 AM
Thread Name: BS: The Bailout
Subject: RE: BS: The Bailout
For the past 11 years, the US Government Accountability Office has declined to sign off on the accounts of the Federal Government.
While the nominal US economy has been growing at a compound annual rate of 5 per cent for seven years, the liabilities of the US Government have been expanding at a compound rate of 13 per cent.
In 2000, the Government had debts of $US29 trillion of guarantees, insurance obligations and projected future payments to Medicare and Social Security recipients. Seven years later, the grand total of such projected future obligations and payments was $US67 trillion.
The cost of insuring against the risk that the US might fail to repay holders of its 10-year Treasury bonds has risen to 20, 30, and now 37 basis points in recent days. Thirty-seven basis points is 0.37 of a per cent. The comparable cost on French government debt is 20; on German it is 13.
(these comments are summarised from an article from today's Sydney Morning Herald)
America's century: is the sun setting on an epoch?