Is the U.S. Bankrupt? [332Kb PDF] Laurence Kotlikoff, writing in this month's Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, says "yes" - to the tune of $66 trillion! [more inside]
posted by ikkyu2 on Jul 16, 2006 - 67 comments

Still Broke? Things getting worse? Well you should follow your own advice! Continued from.
posted by lalochezia on Sep 21, 2005 - 41 comments

How much? (sun times link) So the story is we're going to have an estimated $427 billion shortfall. So what does that mean? According to this guy the deficit is more of a metaphor than something real. According to newhouse news service the deficit gets added to the national debt (and is terrifying). According to this guy the deficit is not a well defined concept Will it stimulate the economy? Increase taxes? It's too complex for me even though it's in the news a lot. $7.9 trillion in debt doesn't sound good though... I think I'll just keep blaming this guy.
posted by Smedleyman on Jan 25, 2005 - 31 comments

Drowning the government in a bathtub - "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Thus spoke Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform. "The lunatics are now in charge of the asylum", quipped the conservative UK Financial Times. Hardly, says Paul Krugman. The strategy?: "Instead of challenging popular liberal programs directly, the Republicans are creating fiscal conditions that make those programs unsustainable." [lead post, Am. Prospect]. In other words, the 400 billion dollar deficit, coupled with the Bush tax cuts, is designed to shift the obligations of the Fed onto the States and, later, to cause a fiscal train wreck after Bush is out of office.
posted by troutfishing on Jun 12, 2003 - 58 comments