Nouriel Roubini, Arpitha Bykere: The Coming Sovereign Debt Crisis

forbes.com:

The severe recession, combined with a financial crisis during 2008-09, worsened the fiscal positions of developed countries due to stimulus spending, lower tax revenues and support to the financial sector. The impact was greater in countries that had a history of structural fiscal problems, maintained loose fiscal policies and ignored fiscal reforms during the boom years. Going forward, a weak economic recovery and an aging population is likely to increase the debt burden of many advanced economies, including the U.S., Britain, Japan and several eurozone countries.

Read the whole story: forbes.com

Comments

[stargazer13]

11:50 AM on 01/16/2010

as the workers who helped create wealth become a drain on governments in their elder years

hum now what does that really mean ?

thanks for your service but now that your to old ! yes that it,s to old !! to be productive well now you are a problem !!

to my elders who have worked all your life Peace and you deserve your golden years with out hearing crap like this !!

[desertman]

09:44 PM on 01/17/2010

Well it would have all worked out fine had the social security trust actually existed.

[larry278]

10:28 PM on 01/15/2010

Snide remark: Gloom & doom must be the buzz words for print on paper media since Forbes is touting it. That is what makes it exciting to read puff sheets such as Forbes.

[Peter Noble 2]

05:52 PM on 01/15/2010

Higher yields on sovereign debt will enable pensioners once more to invest safely and they also will then spend more. We actually did very well with higher yields as average investors could invest, compound, save and spend more.
With pitiful returns on bonds it has cramped a lot of pensioners household budgets.

[desertman]

09:46 PM on 01/17/2010

Higher yields happen only if there are taxpayers to service the resulting debt.

[totaldisbelief]

01:27 PM on 01/15/2010

Gee ...part of the problem might just be the Gold Plated Tungsten Bars that are being passed off as Pure Gold. no wonder They don't want indepth audits....and that Russia and China have demanded delivery and inspection of any bullion they purchase.

[stargazer13]

11:55 AM on 01/16/2010

biggest gold scam in recent history !! Tungsten is worth what to day 15 years ago it was around 6 bucks a pound !!

Audit the fed audit Fort Knox audit S.S.I. audit the pentagon there missing 2,3 trillion dollars of tax payer money !!

[desertman]

09:50 PM on 01/17/2010

Who’s seen the tungsten bars? What are the names of officials who can confirm the fraud? Why aren’t the Russians and Chine who’ve been ripped off waving the phonies in front of a TV camera? These questions don’t yet have satisfactory answers. Thus the rumor will have to remain just that.

[my whitehouse]

11:47 AM on 01/15/2010

hat tip to http://iamned-website.blogspot.com

[condor101]

08:32 AM on 01/15/2010

Spain is under severe economic pressure. I have friends there and they pay very little in real estate taxes and living costs. Spain is a great place to live, as opposed to the very high prices of the U.S.
I know of some countries in the emerging markets that are doing very very well. Business opportunities are enormous there.
Over 300 million U.S. consumers that need to buy products. I love it!!!!!!!!!!

[Liberal2]

02:03 PM on 01/15/2010

Obviously you funked reading comprehension.

[condor101]

10:35 AM on 01/18/2010

Kiss my A/S/S.

[Troubledwawa]

09:51 PM on 01/14/2010

"Fiscal consolidation efforts might not be strong until the bond vigilantes signal shifting to safer assets. To achieve credibility, governments will need to pass binding legislation enforcing tighter fiscal belts when their economies begin to recover on a sustained basis.'

I guess we'll see. Eventually, there will be a showdown with the bond vigilanties - no doubt. There isn't a sustainable recovery in sight right now. Not within the suggested 1 to 2 year time horizon from the article, anyway.

[RTIII]

12:37 PM on 01/17/2010

This "tighter belt" stuff is all about stopping help for the people before it begins.

It's absolutely bass akwards, of course. Help the people - infrastructure, education, etc - and you help the economy vastly more. It's called an investment in yourself. And such investements are, historically, _always_ a good idea, and _always_ pay _huge_ dividends as compared with not having done so. Stop those investments and you get the drop as we see in California when it stopped funding its schools so well - yes, it was Prop 13 that did it...
.

[HMDMSR]

05:53 PM on 01/14/2010

"The impact was greater in countries that had a history of structural fiscal problems, maintained loose fiscal policies and ignored fiscal reforms during the boom years."

A warning has been issued to any country that fits the above description: "Look out, the IMF is coming to get you! Bend--or the IMF will break you."

[Rule Of Law]

06:21 PM on 01/14/2010

The IMF that Obama gave 100 Billion dollars of US taxpayer money to last year?

[jake1492]

12:32 PM on 01/14/2010

Fiscal imbalance for the federal government is caused by two things. Excessive spending and inadequate income.

High income earners have to accept higher taxes.
High income earners in illegitimate "industries" such as non productivity promoting aspects of the financial businesses (the term "industry" being used loosely, because it is not an industry at all) need to be regulated out of existence.

Our economic system needs to be realigned to harness the power of the free enterprise system to result in the creation and thriving of industry with real world productive output.

Our trade policy needs to be re-defined to defend our values while insisting on a level playing field within the context of protecting our values.

Those on the left need to come to a better understanding of what constitutes a morally justified government intervention to promote the dignity of the person. Many of the social programs currently supported by the government are overly generous and go beyond what that minum standard of promoting human dignity would call for.

There's a lot to do. Can a bought political system like the one we have possibly do these things?

[lightningbolt]

11:34 AM on 01/14/2010

The solution to sovereign debt crises is very simple: increase taxes on the rich!

[desertman]

09:52 PM on 01/17/2010

We need more rich people... oh wait....

[my whitehouse]

11:30 AM on 01/14/2010

There is no economic recovery with 10% unemployment and lack of affordable education & healthcare.
hat tip to http://iamned-website.blogspot.com