A Warning: Greece Paying 19.7% Interest On Bonds

[william the wie]

The wild card is finding out the actual multiplier lost for the US through our garrisons and the various multipliers gained by the recipient countries. Withdrawal from the Philippines was a multiplier of about 5 for the US or so I have been told. My Filipino contacts through my wife's contributions to Christian Light Foundation indicate that their multiplier from the US garrisons was much higher than 5. Cuts to the US defense budget and devaluation of the dollar are likely to collapse large parts of the world economy.

 

[boedicca]

Increase taxes on the superrich

Cut spending on empire

Rethink FREE TRADE.

Do that and depending on how much you cut and how much taxes are increased, in about two decades the USA will again have a solvent budget and the quality of life for the average American will stop going down, and probably start rising again.

However we lack the political will to do these things.

Why?

Because the superwealthy like things the way they are.

The way things are, after all, is exactly the way that BIG CAPITAL designed things to be.

Translation: Let's adopt a Misery Loves Company "stategery".

 

[MikeK]

The current interest rate on I-Series U.S. Savings Bonds purchased today is 0.74%.

 

[boedicca]

With Real Inflation hovering around 10%, that's a great deal for the government, and a bad one for the suckers who purchase them.

 

[svnt]

This is a pretty ugly warning about where we are headed if we don't reduce our debt.

Greece is now paying nearly 20% (that is credit card rate interest). By comparison, the U.S. net interest outlays in 2010 were about $200B. If the interest rate double, triples, quadruples, quintuples, do the math.

That is where we are headed - an ever increasing share of our GDP to just pay off the debt for past spending excesses.

Today’s Telegraph informs us that the yields on Greek, Spanish, Irish, and Portuguese debt climbed to record levels today, and that Irish bank debt has been cut to junk status. In the meantime, Finland’s political tilt rightwards in yesterday’s elections portend a possible veto of any plans by the European Central Bank to bail out these economies on terms unfavorable to the EC member countries paying the bills.

Greece is now paying 19.7% on 2 year bonds and there is a real fear of government default. This will put even more pressure on the other PIIGS, who are either on or already over the edge. The question then becomes which economies are triaged. Greece, Iceland, and Ireland are all moribund. Portugal is in the middle of a political crisis, and Spain is teetering on the edge. We are seeing the slow motion destruction of the economic and social programs that helped these economies enter the 21st century. It is hard to believe where these countries ranked economically and demographically even 25 years ago.

The Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. debt is, in my opinion, similar to their downgrade of subprime debt in 2007. Too late and out of touch.

This is disturbing. But not scary. Greece has actually been in default on their debts for more than half of their existence. That sounds crazy, but it is indeed true.

The US on the other hand has never defaulted on our debt.

 

[uscitizen]

Any movie that starred John Revolta deserves to be in default!