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Budget Balance

Bond Free? (5/12/2010)

Treasury bonds are important instruments in regulating the money supply.

Keywords: budget deficit, budget surplus, debt, interest rate, money supply, quantitative easing, Treasury bonds

Bubble Saving (6/17/2010)

The US has been spending more than it earns and has to borrow from abroad to fund its real investment.

Keywords: capital depreciation allowances, debt, disposable income, dissaving, foreign capital, investment, net worth, Saving, trade surplus

Deficit and Debt (11/2/2011)

Chronic budget deficits could lead to a ballooning debt/GDP ratio.

Keywords: debt, deficit, GDP, inflation, interest rate, solvency

Eat Your Cake Now (11/2/2011)

Who doesn't like to eat their cake and have it at the same time?

Keywords: budget deficit, IOU, Social Security, Trust Fund

Eat Your Cake Now - cartoon transcript (6/22/2012)

Who doesn't like to eat their cake and have it at the same time?

Keywords: budget deficit, IOU, Social Security, Trust Fund

Flows and Stocks (6/17/2010)

The excess of inflows over outflows adds to the stock if flows are not instantly perishable.

Keywords: aging, capital, debt, deficit, depreciation, Flow, infrastructure, investment, population, saving, stock, vintage

Ponzi Schemes (1/22/2010)

Medicare and Social Security are Ponzi schemes whose long-term financial viability depends on an ever larger body of later contributors paying off a much smaller body of earlier contributors.

Keywords: budget deficits, Medicare, Social Security, Treasury Bond, trust fund

Shaky Union (5/12/2010)

Even though members of the European Union have no control over their domestic monetary policies, their undisciplined domestic fiscal policies can still wreak great havoc for the financial health of the Union.

Keywords: balanced budget, budget deficit, California, debt, debt/GDP ratio, depreciation, EU, euro crisis, European Union, exchange rate, fiscal policy, Germany, Greece, monetary policy

The Greek Debt Tragedy (5/12/2010)

Heavily indebted Greece was taken to task by bond investors who demanded higher yield to offset higher default risk and rating agencies who threatened to downgrade its bonds.

Keywords: bond rating, Bond yield, CDS, credit default swap, debt, deficit, EU, Greece

Trade Deficits (11/2/2011)

Trade deficits serve to fill domestic private saving gap and government budget gap.

Keywords: budget gap, net export, saving gap, trade deficits