If you would see my other posts you would see I think debt is a bad thing despite whoever owns it. I just don’t think we are at a panic stage yet regarding China or Japan. Our total debt is almost $12 Trillion and that is a much more worrisome than the fact that China owns less than 10% of it.
The HI Trust fund (Part A) started cashing in its non-market T-bills in 2008 and will exhaust them in 2017. SS is also now in the red, i.e., paying out more than it is taking in, and will be so for the next two years. It will go into the black after that until 2016 and then go into the red permaently until 2037 when its trust funds are exhausted. What this means is that the General Fund must come up with the money to pay the difference. I suspect that will entail more borrowing because it is doubtful we can cut spending to any meaningful degree. The entitlement programs will bankrupt us unless they are changed significantly. And the sh*t will hit the fan within a decade.
If you want some scary reading, take a look at this: A SUMMARY OF THE 2009 ANNUAL REPORTS Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees. We are headed for a huge fiscal train wreck, which is why the politicians of both parties are frantically seeking healthcare reform, which will entail cuts in Medicare and higher taxes. This country is broke.