How US Defaulting On Its Payments Could Shake The World

Sign of the times: A message outside the Lincoln Memorial which has closed due to the government shutdown. Economists are more concerned about a possible U.S. default later this month

Will Budget Deadlock Trigger Global Financial Armageddon? How US Defaulting On Its Payments Could Shake The World -- Daily Mail

* U.S. government shutdown lingers on as Congress fails to agree budget
* Fears grow that infighting will prevent agreement on raising the debt level
* America is expected to reach its legal debt limit of $16.7trn on October 17
* Economist says default 'would be Lehman Brothers to power of thousand'

World stock markets began to shake today in response to a U.S. government shutdown that shows no signs of ending soon - and could pave the way for a much more devastating default.

Investors have generally taken the view that the first such shutdown in 17 years would prove temporary, but there are growing worries about its implications for talks on raising the U.S. public debt ceiling later this month.

While the shutdown would have to drag on to have a substantial effect on the United States economy, a failure to raise the debt ceiling carries the threat of a government default on its debt with wide and unpredictable consequences.

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My Comment: From my vantage point .... the U.S. is already facing generational bankruptcy .... the only question that needs to be answered is when will it be made official.

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America Is Facing Generational Bankruptcy

Congressional Budget Office Predicts Unsustainable Debt -- New York Times

WASHINGTON — As the White House and Congress careen toward another fiscal showdown, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned on Tuesday that President Obama and lawmakers have been cutting the wrong kind of federal spending as they try to avoid unsustainable levels of debt in coming decades.

In its annual long-term outlook, the budget office projected that because of government spending cuts and rising tax revenues from the recovering economy, annual deficits will fall in the short term — to a projected 2.1 percent of the economy’s output by the 2015 fiscal year, or about one-fifth of the peak shortfall at the height of the recession in 2009. But starting in 2016, the office projected that deficits will rise again as more aging baby boomers begin drawing from Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid’s long-term care benefits.

By 2023, the annual deficit would rise to an estimated 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product, which is just beyond the level that many economists consider sustainable in a growing economy. By 2038, it would be 6.5 percent.

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More News On The CBO Report Predicting That America Is Facing Generational Bankruptcy

New study warns of U.S. long-term debt problems -- USA Today
U.S. on ‘unsustainable’ budget course: CBO -- Market Watch
CBO Report Warns Of Long-Term Debt Problems -- NPR
Congressional Budget Office study warns of long-term debt woes in United States -- Washington Post/AP
CBO Says Short-Term Deficit Cut Won’t Avert Fiscal Crisis -- Bloomberg Businessweek

My Comment: The predictable response from many politicians .... and the media .... is this. Take it from one who has seen the euro deficit crisis up close and who now lives in Canada that experienced these problems over a decade ago .... the problem is not that we are taxed too little .... the problem is government is spending too much. Government has to cut back on it's spending and promises .... including even the military budget .... but this U.S. President and Congress have other priorities.

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