The federal debt

2011

2011-12-29-Lawrence-the-dirty-secret-in-uncle-sams-friday-trash-dump

The dirty secret in Uncle Sam’s Friday trash dump
By Bryan R. Lawrence
Washington Post Op-Ed, 2011-12-29

2012

2012-03-02-Lawrence-the-trillions-the-government-doesnt-account-for

The trillions the government doesn’t account for
By Bryan R. Lawrence
Washington Post Op-Ed, 2012-03-02

2012-03-27-WSJ-Goodman-demand-for-us-debt-not-limitless

Demand for U.S. Debt Is Not Limitless
by Lawrence Goodman
Wall Street Journal Op-Ed, 2012-03-27

In 2011, the Fed purchased a stunning 61% of Treasury issuance.
That can't last.

2012-04-10-WP-Lane-the-us-governments-credit-programs-carry-hidden-costs

When Uncle Sam plays banker
by Charles Lane
Washington Post Op-Ed, 2012-04-10

Today’s lesson on How America Really Works begins with a question: What is the largest and most influential financial institution in the world? It’s not J.P. Morgan, or even Goldman Sachs. It’s the U.S. government.

That’s the verdict of Brookings Institution banking expert Douglas J. Elliott, and the numbers back him up. By the end of 2011, the federal government’s housing, farm, business and educational credit programs had $2.7 trillion in loans and guarantees outstanding. That’s not counting the $5 trillion-plus, mostly related to housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that Washington took on its books amid the financial crisis that began in 2008.

We’ll find out soon enough whether these “emergency” programs gradually become permanent, as did Great Depression emergency programs such as the Export-Import Bank and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

The federal government’s massive intervention in the credit markets, necessary as it might be in a crisis, shows that our nation often honors its commitment to free markets in the breach.

It is also cause for concern — if, like me, you believe that one of the Great Recession’s lessons is that financial commitments can be a lot riskier than they appear. To make matters worse, current law obscures, rather than clarifies, the risks to taxpayers in the government’s portfolio.

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