A Cure for Fiscal Failure?
“In a new paper, “A Decade of Debt,” Carmen M. Reinhart and I show that general government debt in the United States, including federal, state, and local debt, has now surpassed the record 120% of GDP reached at the end of World War II.”
“Japan, of course, is in even worse shape, with government debt totaling more than 200% of GDP. Though this is partially offset by foreign-exchange reserves, Japan now faces massive disaster-relief costs – and this on top of its depressing demographic trends. Many other rich countries’ debt levels are also uncomfortably close to 150-year highs, despite relative peace in much of the world.”
Kenneth Rogoff , 04/01/2011
