Pickled politics, bendy left-wing antics and right-wing semantics, what will it take to get a serious discussion on solving worldwide debt? There used to be a time when nations spent what they could afford, constrained by the discipline of gold and precious metals. We are now in a position of insanity. Maybe we could plead insanity as a mitigating factor in restructuring our national debt with our creditors. And to the extent that Obama is prepared to paper over all the economy’s mishaps, to extend healthcare for all, unemployment insurance for the chronic work-shys and an extension of tax free subsidies for those who require it the least, all ideas however wacky are invited. America – the land of opportunity.
The Economist had a fairly interesting article titled ‘If nothing else, fiscal rules may trigger a debt discussion’ which highlighted a very pertinent point, the critical discussion of debt ceilings and imposing fiscal discipline. While I cannot subscribe to all facets of the piece the more we get talking about national debt the better. Debt clock anyone?