Comments on: The big cliff that Nate Silver didn’t see http://blogs.reuters.com/muniland/2013/01/25/the-big-cliff-that-nate-silver-didnt-see/ Bridges, budgets, bonds Thu, 09 May 2013 14:47:19 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: DogFase http://blogs.reuters.com/muniland/2013/01/25/the-big-cliff-that-nate-silver-didnt-see/comment-page-1/#comment-2192 DogFase Sun, 27 Jan 2013 12:10:01 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/muniland/?p=12328#comment-2192 Intragovernmental debt isn't really like a credit card where the interest gets added to the balance. It's more like a loan you owe to yourself. If you pay yourself interest, is that really an expense? If you recognize the interest paid as an expense, don't you also have to recognize the interest earned as income? The trust funds for Social Security and other programs are an accounting gimic and can be reasonably ignored for the purpose of tallying the government's debt. What matters is "Debt Held by the Public." Intragovernmental debt isn’t really like a credit card where the interest gets added to the balance. It’s more like a loan you owe to yourself. If you pay yourself interest, is that really an expense? If you recognize the interest paid as an expense, don’t you also have to recognize the interest earned as income?

The trust funds for Social Security and other programs are an accounting gimic and can be reasonably ignored for the purpose of tallying the government’s debt. What matters is “Debt Held by the Public.”

]]> By: DavidTr http://blogs.reuters.com/muniland/2013/01/25/the-big-cliff-that-nate-silver-didnt-see/comment-page-1/#comment-2191 DavidTr Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:05:19 +0000 http://blogs.reuters.com/muniland/?p=12328#comment-2191 Ms. Long, I very much enjoy your posts on issues related to muni bonds. I know that you are a moderate voice, and I hope that you reach an increasingly wide audience. Keep it coming. David Ms. Long,
I very much enjoy your posts on issues related to muni bonds. I know that you are a moderate voice, and I hope that you reach an increasingly wide audience. Keep it coming.
David

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