Prepare for the bankrupt government pension plans!
Will the bankruptcies of State pension plans crash America? History gives an answer.
sovereign debt
Will 21st Century USA have a surprise boom, as did the 19th Century UK?
Summary: Today we have an essay by Andrew Odlyzko, one of the top polymaths and futurists writing today. He reminds us of the difficulty in accurately predicting the future, and the peril of relying on past successes to solve our problems. The industrial revolution relieved the UK’s crushing debt in the 19th century. As the post-WW2 …
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American Exceptionalism gives us a faith-based public policy. Our confidence might be our weakness.
Summary: We have come to believe we are exceptional, not just morally, but also operationally. We act as if we are beyond the need to plan and prepare for possible problems. It is faith-based public policy. Here we review how we came by this delusional belief, and examine how it plays out on a potentially …
Mechanics and consequences of America hitting the debt ceiling
Summary: The debt crisis deserves attention not just as a potentially serious event, but also because it illuminates many aspects of America: the flaws in our political structure, weaknesses in the GOP, and our excessively credulity. This post, the sixth in this series, looks at the crisis, and why we have difficulty seeing it clearly. Contents …
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Minting a trillion dollar platinum coin: the easy fake solution, so we can avoid fixing our problems
Summary: The current crisis is one of governance: how our leaders work together combine with structural flaws to produce bad outcomes. Today we look at this from a legal perspective, which describes both the problem and an easy solution. Such situations show a society its problems, and provide the pressure for successful societies to fix them. …