<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/> The US $200-Trillion Debt Which Cannot Be Named<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/the-us-200-trillion-debt-which-cannot-be-named/> *Scotty Starnes <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/author/scottystarnes/>*| October 28, 2010 at 7:00 PM | Tags: $200 trillion debt <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/200-trillion-debt/>, American taxpayers <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/american-taxpayers/>, Boston University <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/boston-university/>, Laurence Kotlikoff <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/laurence-kotlikoff/>, Ludwig von Mises <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/ludwig-von-mises/>, socialism <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/socialism/>, U.S. government <http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/tag/u-s-government/> | Categories: Uncategorized<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/>| URL: http://wp.me/pvnFC-3hl
$200 trillion is a scary number to wrap your mind around. Ludwig von Mises was correct. Those that practice socialism eventually bankrupt themselves. >From >TheDailyBell.com<http://www.thedailybell.com/1481/The-US200-Trillion-Debt-Which-Cannot-Be-Named.html> : *The scary real U.S. government debt ... Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff says U.S. government debt is not $13.5-trillion (U.S.), which is 60 percent of current gross domestic product, as global investors and American taxpayers think, but rather 14-fold higher: $200-trillion – 840 per cent of current GDP. "Let's get real," Prof. Kotlikoff says. "The U.S. is bankrupt." Writing in the September issue of Finance and Development, a journal of the International Monetary Fund, Prof. Kotlikoff says the IMF itself has quietly confirmed that the U.S. is in terrible fiscal trouble – far worse than the Washington-based lender of last resort has previously acknowledged. "The U.S. fiscal gap is huge," the IMF asserted in a June report. "Closing the fiscal gap requires a permanent annual fiscal adjustment equal to about 14 percent of U.S. GDP." This sum is equal to all current U.S. federal taxes combined. The consequences of the IMF's fiscal fix, a doubling of federal taxes in perpetuity, would be appalling – and possibly worse than appalling. – Globe and Mail (Canada)* *Dominant Social Theme:* What? That can't be. Let's not talk about it. *Free-Market Analysis:* These numbers cited by Laurence Kotlikoff have been all over the Internet for a while now but have not been much reported by the mainstream press. No surprise there, but we are a bit shocked that the Globe and Mail chose to pick them up. Was it a slow news day? The story itself has been around since August. Because the Globe and Mail has covered it, so shall we. Here is our question: Given these numbers, how can banks and institutions purchase US fixed income securities, let alone the dollar? What sense does it make? *These large institutions, with fiduciary responsibility, are basically buying a bankrupt product. And it is not just the US. The entire Western world (maybe with the exception of Germany) is pretty much either flat broke or worse than broke.* For us, this shows as much as anything else how controlled the system really is. It's just a fiction and has little resemblance to reality. Institutions are said to flee to the "safe-haven" of the US dollar when they are nervous. But as Kotlikoff shows, the safe-haven is nothing of the sort. When one adds up all of the various commitments that the US has made abroad and at home (to its own citizens) the debt begins to add up to the monstrous, impossible number Kotlikoff arrives at. Continue reading>>><http://www.thedailybell.com/1481/The-US200-Trillion-Debt-Which-Cannot-Be-Named.html> Add a comment to this post<http://scottystarnes.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/the-us-200-trillion-debt-which-cannot-be-named/#respond> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gocomments/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godelicious/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gofacebook/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gotwitter/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/gostumble/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/godigg/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> <http://feeds.wordpress.com/1.0/goreddit/scottystarnes.wordpress.com/12607/> [image: WordPress] WordPress.com <http://wordpress.com/> | Thanks for flying with WordPress! Manage Subscriptions<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5d39acfd19218362d540a3fc3dc3315d&email=baconlard%40gmail.com>| Unsubscribe<http://subscribe.wordpress.com/?key=5d39acfd19218362d540a3fc3dc3315d&email=baconlard%40gmail.com&b=uELdA9-hF%5D6x%5Bo%3FWVoMQpyvKT%7EY%3F%3FISi%7C2.oTISJ.>| Reach out to your own subscribers with WordPress.com.<http://wordpress.com/signup/?ref=email> *Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser:* http://subscribe.wordpress.com -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more.
