Posted on 06/29/2012 7:32:22 AM PDT by willyd
With some comments added in.
1. Social Security Trust Funds $2.67T (Twice as much as any other country) This amount is going up each year as well.
2. US Federal Reserve $1.659T (US is buying its own debt....what a trick!) This amount is going up not down.
3. China $1.169T (down from 1.314T or around $200 Billion or 20x the size of Mexico's economy or the entire GDP of Israel, Singapore, or Hong Kong)
4. Savings Bonds and “Others” They have essentially quadrupled the number of companies in this catchall category to create the illusion that US investment in US debt has remained steady at $1.102 trillion when in reality it now takes four times the companies to keep that category above the $1 Trillion mark.
5. Japan $1.083 trillion (with a T)
6. Pension Funds $903.4B Is this group next?
7. Mutual Funds $797.9B According to the Federal Reserve, mutual funds hold the seventh largest amount of U.S. debt compared to any other group, and their holdings are currently at an all-time high. Including money market funds, mutual funds and closed-end funds, this group of investment funds manages approximately $797.9 billion of U.S. Treasury securities as of December 2011, which are the most recent numbers available.
8. State and Local Governments $444.6B (Down from $576B in 2006) U.S. state and local governments have nearly a half-trillion dollars invested in American debt, according to the Federal Reserve. The level of investment has remained very stable since 2006, moving within the range of $484 billion and $576 billion. The current debt holdings, however, represent the lowest aggregate level for state and local governments since June 2005, when they stood just below today’s figure at $444 billion.
9. Medicare Trust funds $324.57B – The group they just stole $600B from? The trust funds supplying capital to Medicare - the Hospital Insurance Trust Fund and the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund - hold approximately $324.57 billion in U.S. Government debt, according to the Treasury. The Hospital Insurance Trust Fund draws revenue mostly from payroll taxes and pays for Medicare Part A benefits, including inpatient
10. Depository Institutions $286.3B (Nearly tripled after their bailout … interesting huh?) This group includes commercial banks, savings banks and credit unions and in 2011 holdings nearly tripled from the 2008 low of $105 billion
11. Oil Exporters $254.5B (down from $264.9B) Included in the group of oil exporters are Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria.
12. Insurance Companies $253.7B (prop-casualty and life insurance firms) 13. Brazil $237B down from $240B 14. Carribbean Banks 224B (down from $226B in Dec 2011) 15. Taiwan $185B down from slightly higher
They have gone after everyone on this list except for Social Security, Pension Funds and Insurance. Insurance companies hold most of their invested funds in US Government bonds. Increasing profits to insurance companies through Obamacare would definitely increase demand for US Government bonds that are faltering in the categories beyond the control of the US.
I didn't get that from the CNBC slide show on this page. The amount of savings bonds has dropped some (from http://www.fms.treas.gov/bulletin/b2012_2.pdf page 41) but it remains nearly $200 billion.
I think this might just be a sign that it is now far easier to buy treasury bonds/bills/notes directly from the government without an intermediary which would fall into one of the other categories like mutual funds. Also after the 2008 crash more investors are in bonds having abandoned stocks.
I don't think medical insurance changes would have much effect on this. Medical insurance is like car insurance where annual income pretty well matches expenses plus profits with a little saved ahead for unexpectedly expensive years. They don't save much for the future like whole life insurance or annuity investments do.
The article stated that there are now four times the amount of companies included in this category which means that per company, investment in US Bonds has dropped significantly.
They have to keep adding additional types of companies to this category in order to get the same number.
Social Security funds were spent as they were accumulated.
I don’t understand your reasoning behind this assertion.
Well when you realize that the banks tripled their investments in US Gov bonds after they were bailed out and Brazil increased their investment after Petrobras then it would stand to reason the US Gov expects the Insurance companies to step up to the plate now that Obamacare has passed.
Essentially the bailout of the banks meant that the banks turned right back around and lent that money back the government. It is a very large scale game of 3 card montey in my opinion.
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