[tgdunbar]

unexpectedly useful historical survey from Newsweek.

"How do we break the deadlock? The first step is to recognize that the worst is possible. History provides lessons. The first concerns the very nature of public debt: it is an obligation handed down from the present generation to future ones. The latter must always pay, one way or another—which is why public debt is acceptable only under certain conditions."

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

It’s a little late for Newsweek to be channeling Milton Friedman. They’ve already had their own near death experience. They should realize that the worst has happened.

[broken_arrow1]

I found this article interesting and pertinent:

http://www.zerohedge.com/article/howard-buffett-said-human-freedom-rests-gold-redeemable-money-called-return-gold-standard

[rbg81]

Useful? Sorry, but I'm not impressed. Statements like the below make me think they haven't learned anything. The "running costs" they mention are the costs for the part of Government that is legitimate (e.g., defense, law enforcement, etc). I wouldn't put health care under "intelligent" costs. And we all know what a black hole education spending is. Lastly, they conveniently leave out the elephant in the room: entitlements.

...one must parse unwise debt (debt that finances running costs) from intelligent debt (public infrastructure for energy, transport, health care, or education).

[econjack]

All these, and similar problems, disappear if you require any new spending program to be accompanied with the means to fund it. That is, any new program must have a fee structure or tax associated with it or it doesn’t even get considered. Of course, this would never happen with the spineless idiots we seem to place in office who prefer to buy their job now and let some future generation pay for it.

[griswold3]

What? Me worry?

http://rodgermmitchell.wordpress.com/2010/08/13/monetarily-sovereign-the-key-to-understanding-economics/

[SunkenCiv]

But never, outside periods of total war, has the debt of the world's most powerful states grown so immense.

It's worth remembering that in 1801, when Jefferson became president, the US national debt was around $100 million, about 10 times annual federal revenues. This was literally "the cost of freedom," and would correspond today to a national debt around $30 trillion. Since our actual national debt is $13+ trillion, the government is in better financial shape today than it was in Jefferson's time. And at the time, Jefferson's number one priority was paying down the national debt. So, how did he do it? How does ANY wise government ever increase its revenues? Yes, that's right! JEFFERSON REDUCED GOVERNMENT SPENDING AND CUT TAXES.-- BroJoeK

Thank BroJoeK, and for that matter, thanks President Jefferson.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

I have a better idea than gold: Real Estate.
There is dollar deflation in real estate which cannot go on forever.
The risk from a dollar turn-around is less.
As Will Rogers said,”Buy land. They’re not making any more of it.”
No mortgages however. Cash only, just like gold.