In April 2016, we considered the use of national debt as a weapon through Saudi Arabia’s threat to sell off its large holdings of the U.S. national debt and other assets. The threat comes in response to the possibility of the U.S. Congress acting to declassify 28 pages of a report about the role…
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In the United States, we celebrate Memorial Day to remember and honor the Americans who died while serving in the military services of the nation. As a holiday, it began informally in the late 1860s, where it was first called “Decoration Day“, which arose in the cities and towns whose families had provided so…
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A major step toward the bailout of the bankrupt government of the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico was taken on May 25, 2016, when a draft of the “Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act” (PROMESA) advanced from a Congressional committee with bipartisan approval. The Wall Street Journal describes the bill now pending…
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According to Social Security’s Trustees, in 2034, all Americans who receive retirement benefits from Social Security will have their pension payments slashed by 21%. But before that happens 18 years from now, U.S. truckers will test drive even larger retirement benefit cuts from their pensions if the U.S. Treasury department has its way, as…
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What happens when a number of the world’s central banks begin selling off their holdings of U.S. Treasury securities—the money the U.S. federal government borrows to sustain its spending? That’s a real question today because according to CNN, that’s exactly what three of the U.S. government’s largest lenders did in the first quarter of…
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How has the national debt burden per typical U.S. household changed during the last 8 years? To answer that question, it might help to know what a typical U.S. household is. For our purposes, a typical American household is one that earns the median household income, which means that 50% of U.S. households earn…
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When a government’s public debt grows too large, so much so that it needs to be bailed out in order to continue functioning, who do you suppose benefits the most from the bailout? If you said “the government”, or “the people”, you’re wrong. In reviewing the series of bailouts of Greece from 2010 through…
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The shell game is officially over – today, the U.S. commonwealth government of Puerto Rico will default on making $442 million in payments to its creditors. USA Today reports the news: Puerto Rico Gov. Alejandro García Padilla said Sunday afternoon in a televised address that he had ordered the island’s Government Development Bank not…
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A very cool YouTube video from Burton Folsom on why private investors are so much more successful at realizing technological achievements than are the kinds of schemes that are subsidized by the government: In addition to being very personally invested in the outcome of their endeavors, there is also a big difference in the…
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The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has the mission to “create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.” To do that, the U.S. government entity has established a five point agenda: Strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers Meet the need for quality affordable…
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