Debt & Deficits

Japan is flirting with becoming the Greece of the East. Japan’s legendary household and corporate savings are on a downward trend [and, while current] domestic savers have always been forgiving of the government’s overspending, when [their] savings become inadequate to fund the government’s drain, other investors will be much less sympathetic. Words: 508

It is appropriate that the fiscal crisis of the West has begun in Greece, the birthplace of Western civilization. Soon it will cross the channel to Britain. The key question, however, is when that crisis will reach the last bastion of Western power, on the other side of the Atlantic. Words: 609

In a global crisis sovereign debt fears have the ability to be contagious destroying investor confidence in the capital markets of troubled countries and the overall global economy alike and when confidence wanes, capital flees it is a surefire recipe for falling dominoes. That's especially true today in the wake of a deep global recession that has left many countries with bloated deficits and debt loads. Words: 707

Looking forward, our formula for working out of the current deficit pattern would be to have the Republicans regain control of one house of Congress (but not both houses of Congress plus the White House). The economy fully recovers. I’m not ready to forecast surpluses to come, but I can envision the deficits coming down to reasonable magnitudes. Words: 1438