The 'debt' that is mentioned is government debt. Join discussion...

This article is good for understanding what foreign debt is. But it is essentially weak (turkey thinking). However, the last sentence in Ross Gittin's article is "Of course, the conventional wisdom among economists could be wrong. It has been known." Join discussion...

Because a lot of US government spending are indexed to price inflation rate. Join discussion...

Maybe there should be a new unemployment statistic based on the number of hours work? Join discussion...

Oh oh... China is acting today to forestall a fiscal/banking crisis in the years to come. Join discussion...

Robert Shiller reckons that there's going to be a double dip. Join discussion...

With uncharacteristic bluntness, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Really, Mr Bernanke? "S. Bernanke warned Congress on Wednesday that the United States could soon face a debt crisis like the one in Greece, and declared that the central bank will not help legislators by printing money to pay for the ballooning federal debt. " Join discussion...

"China’s hidden borrowing may push government debt to 96 percent of gross domestic product next year, increasing the risk of a financial crisis in the world’s third-biggest economy, Professor Victor Shih said." Join discussion...

Beyond the official budget deficit, the US government has even more hidden debts. Join discussion...

Saul Eslake has this very insightful comment in this article, "These inflation targets were chosen because, when inflation is about ''2-point something'', people tend not to notice it. And when they don't notice it, they tend not to do things to protect themselves against it that are likely to lead eventually to prices rising at a faster rate. By contrast, when inflation is, say, 4 per cent or higher, experience amply demonstrates that people do notice it - and they start to do things to protect themselves against its adverse consequences, such as seeking higher wages, or (in the case of businesses) putting up prices in anticipation of faster increases in costs. The inevitable result is that, sooner or later, inflation starts rising at a faster rate than 4 per cent, and the central bank is eventually obliged to raise interest rates to slow the economy sufficiently to bring inflation back down to 4 per cent again. But when it has done so (at some cost in terms of unemployment), people start doing the same things again to protect themselves against the effects of 4 per cent inflation. In other words, a 4 per cent, or higher, inflation rate is unlikely to be sustainable in the way that a 2 or 3 per cent inflation rate has been. It is likely to result not only in inflation being more volatile, but also in economic activity being more volatile and, probably, slower on average." Join discussion...