Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Just happy we don't have to worry about it.


As we’ve noted previously, one of the biggest problems with busy-body Keynesian economics is that it is not applied in a particularly Keynesian fashion. Everyone has got the whole deficit-spending thing down, pat – no worries, there. It’s the whole saving for a rainy day during the good times that no one in D.C. or Sacramento has time for.

And when the New York Times starts worrying about the debt burden, you may have to start paying some attention to it.

In some ways, ballooning deficits should not matter. Deficits are a useful way for governments to use public spending to stimulate the economy when private demand is weak. This works as long as a country closes its deficit and pays back its borrowings after its economy starts to recover.
The trouble is that government borrowing risks crowding out private investment, driving up interest rates and potentially slowing a recovery still trying to take hold. That is why the Federal Reserve announced an extraordinary policy this year to buy back existing long-term debt — $300 billion over six months — to drive down yields. The strategy worked for a while, but now the impact of that decision appears to be wearing off as long-term interest rates tick up again.

Even the Times seems hip to the fact of the inflationary pressures brought about by massive debts. But as long as we have someone to buy up that debt, no problems, right?

Uh-oh.
China, wary of the troubled US economy, has already "canceled America's credit card" by cutting down purchases of debt, a US congressman said Thursday.

China has the world's largest foreign reserves, believed to be mostly in dollars, along with around 800 billion dollars in US Treasury bonds, more than any other country.

But Treasury Department data shows that investors in China have sharply curtailed their purchases of bonds in January and February.

With the Chinese on their way out, who’s in?
Kirk said he was the first member of Congress to tour the Bureau of Public Debt, which trades bonds, and was alarmed at how much debt was being bought by the US Federal Reserve due to absence of foreign investors.

"There will come a time where the lack of Chinese participation may have a significant impact," Kirk said.
"We should track that, because up until last month they were the number one provider of currency to the United States and now they're gone."

So what are we doing to cover our own debt? Let’s start cranking up the printing presses.


Picture above represents shameless flaunting of nieces and nephews as well as a singling-out of the individuals who will be on the business end of this country's deferred responsibility program.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ah, somebody did a little NYT research and reading beyond May Day, 2006!

I hope you didn't get any liberal east coast media bias juice on you while combing the archives!!

- Mongo Next Will Be Offering Up The BBC as Resource Material To Help Expand Horizons -- But Judges BwD Ain't Quite Ready For Al Jazeera.com Just Yet

Anonymous said...

What are talking about? We're just trying to get out of Bush's last eight years. It takes time, trust our new leaders, give them the time to fix the mess Dubya put us in.

"Ending a sentance with a preposition to give Mr. Lloyd something pertinant to do" Facetious 'Dawg

Anonymous said...

Love the shameless plug, please send the jpg via email. Look for one of your own

'Dawg

Anonymous said...

Indeed.

What are we talking about? I never got past the sentence that said BwD was reading the NYT.

- Mongo Getting Out Red Pen for Road Kills Comment: Never knew one post could have a missing word; Three missing periods; Two missing capital letters; "sentEnce" spelled incorrectly; Unnecessary quote marks; and "pertinEnt" spelled incorrectly.

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you can't spell and write, you may have been home-schooled.

Road Dawg said...

Thanks! Always know you won't disappoint.

Always providing an easy distraction for the A.D.D. self-important foolish among us.

Road(Kill)Dawg, who won the 5th grade spelling "B" in public school and likes to have fun with pencil-pushing, pointy-headed, intellectual administrative types that aren't in grip with the real world! (AND... taking a stab at "facetious", did I get it right?)

Dean said...

I usually don't respond to snark and sanctimoniousness that is divorced from reality and I won't make an exception this time, either.

Dean, noting that the NYT is running about neck and neck with those other bastions of conservative thought, the LA Times and MSNBC.com for the lead in linked articles in the past month.

Anonymous said...

Jonah Goldberg over at the L.A. Times would like a word with you.

- Mongo Wonders if the National Review Also Has a Link to The Pink Panties??

Anonymous said...

Oh, and Road? You're right. It does take time...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/06/us/06dover.html?hpw

- Mongo Well Aware of Messes Still to Be Cleaned Up

Road Dawg said...

Mongo,
Again, make my point for me, but at least the last one contained humor. (even if borrowed)

Remember, this is a blog, not an insurance report. We are trying to present ideas. Your attempts at humor seem usually lame and off the point. It's why I enjoy making fun of you.

I love to hate your retarded comments. And when it comes to really tough questions, there is usually not an inteligent response....even though we all know you're capable.

I just wanted to get out of the "snarky" moment. Mongo, you have had a few incredibly insightful comments, not recently....but... Let's not act like a couple of weenies and make the blog about our snarkyness.

Where's your blog? I would love to read and join your blogosphere.

You win!
'Dawg

Road Dawg said...

So what about the bodies to come from Afganistan? This is now Obama's new front on terror. Casualties of war are still casualties.

What of the protests for those casualties in 3 upcomming years? Those are ok, because this guy is YOUR president?

So I read the article, so what? What if casualties come from Bosnia, or Somalia? These were not Bush's wars.

What about the casualties in training from our presence in Europe? You think there have been none? Clean-up is clean-up.

So now an American life is more important than the millions liberated from the Hussain regime? Or those that would be cut down for the expression of freedom?

Were we to ignore the prior use of weapons of mass destruction against the Kurds? This seems like an awful hypocritical position to take. Where is your position on Bosnia? Somalia?

So I understand the loss of the families. But don't think clean-up is one sided. I have heard military reports advising Obama not to pursue Afganistan in the same manner. It has to do with supply lines. Small special ops forces that can be air supplied would be more effective, due to terrain logistics.

So don't be so hip to jump on the blame bandwagon, Mr. Lloyd. It's war, and even if for the right reasons, it can be messy. Let's pray our CIC will move forward with the heart of what's right.

Anonymous said...

One of these things is not like the others...

Bosnia
Somalia
IRAQ!!! <<<<-------
Afghanistan
Europe

Can you figure out which one? Goooooooood.

- Mongo Only Found Two Road Kill Mispellings: That's H-u-s-s-E-i-n, and much more frightening even than those pesky Al Qaeda-linked WMD-having dictators: i-n-t-e-l-L-i-g-e-n-t. SkyNet must be learning at a geometric rate! I'm heading for the fallout shelter.

Road Dawg said...

Right and wrong. A strong case can be made for genicide Bosnia/ Iraq.
What about the mass graves? Not time to step in?

Yes, one of these things are not like another. Gassed Kurds. ie WMD's, what?!?!? Didn't happen?

Somalia- Iraq... aside from other things, humanitarian efforts have been attempted. Poorly excecuted in both cases, one more than the other.

Europe, Germany, another tyrant gone with clean-up to do after the war. I thought we were never to allow such things to happen in the world again! Yet, Iraqi mass graves.
Do you approve of the mass graves, Mongo?

Afganistan..tyranny...Iraq...tyrany! You believe there are no similarities? Dude, you're spending too much time spell-checking and being snarky.

All of these have similarities. If you can't see past me banging out a comment with out spell check and hoping you will make a non-snarky comment, then discussion is lost.

Cmon, don't be a pointy headed intellectual.

As to why we went into Iraq, we had the support in the Clinton admin using the same intell from Mad Albright, B Clinton, Biden, H Dean, Sandy Berger and after from Pelosi, H Clinton, and Edwards to name a few.

Not a huge Bush fan, and not even a Republican, but I can see hypcrosy and "team" politics where it is. Take a look at the video, Mongo, these are YOUR people and are sincere. These Democrats have played politics with an issue about American/ Iraqi lives!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5p-qIq32m8

Mygawd, how can you view this video and support these people? These comments are not taken out of context, or with a snarky comment. These remarks have been made in the public forum.

Let's see if you can find some mssspells and non-sequetors to amuse yourself. The facts are there. All of these wars are not like each other, but all of these wars have something in common.

Thank's again for the "RoadKill" moniker. I like leaving you with no reply but some spellllschec k errors. But let's get past it. I hate leaving your left-wing,team-loving carcass on the side of the road. (A little snarky, but jeez, doode, come up with something more original than spellcheck)

BTW, you never had an answer to my question months ago? What would you do? Your kid is in a failed school and not getting an education from the system. What would you do? Too poor to move, no vouchers, working two jobs to make ends meet, whatcha do?