tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post113089669179341845..comments2023-11-05T04:36:14.223-08:00Comments on The Mess That Greenspan Made: Fun With the Public DebtTimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1139063102590833512006-02-04T06:25:00.000-08:002006-02-04T06:25:00.000-08:00Good research. I've done some, too. Did you know...Good research. <BR/>I've done some, too. <BR/><BR/>Did you know that much of the government's Intragovernmental holdings are termed Treasury Government Account Series (GAS) securities. <BR/><BR/>They created these when they "paid down the debt" in the late 90s. <BR/><BR/>The politicians could proclaim they were paying down the debt when they were just creating GAS securities to fund the buying back of bonds from those on the outside while increasing debt inside. <BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the debt did not go down, but actually increased as transaction costs<BR/><BR/>Whoever dreamed up that acronym, GAS, had a sense of humor, since the securities are nothing but air. <BR/><BR/>Recently, I read that they are now simply writing off these GAS securites since they owe it to themselves anyway. Some trick, huh? <BR/><BR/>So the GAS securities go back from whence they came. Hot air. <BR/><BR/>The result is further debasement of the currency.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1133602598088450202005-12-03T01:36:00.000-08:002005-12-03T01:36:00.000-08:00Great blog! Your flood of depressing facts does n...Great blog! Your flood of depressing facts does not surprise me, though. What can you expect from a government run by criminals? This is what you get when two totally corrupt and rotten to the core political parties have a stranglehold on power in this country.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131404571158421922005-11-07T15:02:00.000-08:002005-11-07T15:02:00.000-08:00Re: What else.....I figure China see their hoardin...Re: What else.....<BR/><BR/>I figure China see their hoardings of dollars as a sort of weapon in reserve, which they can drop on the market when and if the US should ever seriously annoy them. The financial loss they would thus inflict upon themselves has surely already been written off.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131397748702815832005-11-07T13:09:00.000-08:002005-11-07T13:09:00.000-08:00What else are they going to do with the money? Lot...What else are they going to do with the money? Lots of things - buying commodities and investing in natural resource companies are at the top of the list.<BR/><BR/>The question of when will Asia stop taking those dollars and lending them back to us is really the question of the decade. <BR/><BR/>It should really be viewed not as "investing" the money, but as "what can they do with the dollars that would serve their interests best?" Right now, their interests are best served by keeping the U.S. budget deficit funded and continuing to loan money for U.S. housing in order to keep our economy going and their exports going.<BR/><BR/>The problem for the U.S. is that what is in one's best interest changes over time - the U.S. has become overly dependent on borrowing money from abroad..Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131383498331843442005-11-07T09:11:00.000-08:002005-11-07T09:11:00.000-08:00Re: loopholeBetter investments have existed for a ...Re: loophole<BR/><BR/>Better investments have existed for a while. The Chinese are aggressively pursuing energy and commodities WW. Tipping point will come when that is widely perceived as the place to park money. Can't buy earthquake insurance during the earthquake.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131161968252846942005-11-04T19:39:00.000-08:002005-11-04T19:39:00.000-08:00Tim you have small(HUGE) loophole in your anaylsis...Tim you have small(HUGE) loophole in your anaylsis on international holdings of US assests. What else are the Japenese and Chinese gonna buy besides US securities? Euro growth rates in the basement, a staggering Asian market, or the credit/political risk filled prospect of Latin America? Sad as it may seem the US can fire up the press all they want until a better investment comes along. Now when that happens its a different story, but in the short to mid-term sorry but I see little worry about.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131038290618389222005-11-03T09:18:00.000-08:002005-11-03T09:18:00.000-08:00I like your warning about pdfs. I hate them too.I like your warning about pdfs. I hate them too.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131037883853365832005-11-03T09:11:00.000-08:002005-11-03T09:11:00.000-08:00Tim,Heard of "Peak Oil"? How about "Peak Credit"?...Tim,<BR/><BR/>Heard of "Peak Oil"? How about "Peak Credit"??? Perhaps that would be the point where the Japanese and Chinese are no longer willing to buy ever increasing amounts of Treasuries.<BR/><BR/>I want to thank you so much for this blog. This is great stuff.<BR/><BR/>Sean LoveAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1131026690948335222005-11-03T06:04:00.000-08:002005-11-03T06:04:00.000-08:00If we are already in an unreported recession, woul...If we are already in an unreported recession, wouldn't we see corporate profits tanking, retail sales dropping fast at places like Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.?Worker 17https://www.blogger.com/profile/11311854874493560068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1130985349705917842005-11-02T18:35:00.000-08:002005-11-02T18:35:00.000-08:00I've heard people say we're already in a recession...I've heard people say we're already in a recession because the combined understatement of inflation and overstatement of growth exceeds the reported real GDP of 3 or 4 percent. <BR/><BR/>I haven't looked into enough to have an opinion other than that real GDP is higher than it should be simply because inflation is understated.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1130947521687585982005-11-02T08:05:00.000-08:002005-11-02T08:05:00.000-08:00awesome. what is your feeling about how much GDP ...awesome. what is your feeling about how much GDP is overstated? my instincts tell me GDP is probably 1-2% higher than it should be.john_law_the_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14231101798981208231noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1130946278915474192005-11-02T07:44:00.000-08:002005-11-02T07:44:00.000-08:00I'm planning to - just haven't gotten around to it...I'm planning to - just haven't gotten around to it yet.Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16530974968126497397noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719208.post-1130944880856062332005-11-02T07:21:00.000-08:002005-11-02T07:21:00.000-08:00tim, do you plan on making a post about what the u...tim, do you plan on making a post about what the underinflated CPI numbers do for GDP figures? that would be an interesting follow-up.john_law_the_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14231101798981208231noreply@blogger.com