“No Way Out” of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fall

The guy is right, there is no way possible out of this debt trap, everything thinks by cutting a few billion here and there it will eventually add up and the trillions will disappear as if they were never there. In a few weeks talk of raising the debt ceiling is going to come back into play and everyone knows for a fact that the only thing they can do is raise the debt ceiling. Pretty sad that the only answer to this crisis is more debt, which is the reason why were in this crisis now.

Let the markets decide the answer to the crisis, every bit of intervention in this market is just more cause for failure moving forward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


“No Way Out” of Debt Trap, Gross Says: U.S. Living Standards Doomed to Fall
Posted Mar 08, 2011 09:00am EST by Stacy Curtin
Related: ^DJI, ^GSPC, ^TNX, GLD, GDX, TLT, MUB


Debt, debt and more mounting debt is plaguing countries around the globe.

In this U.S., states across the country face a collective $125 billion shortfall for fiscal 2012, while Congress is facing a budget gap nearly 10 times that size.

PIMCO founder and co-CIO Bill Gross has previously said that if the United States were a corporation, no one in their right mind would lend us money. For the last decade, we’ve been “relying on the kindness of strangers” to help cover our debts, he tells Aaron in the accompanying clip.

By “strangers” he is referring to our foreign counterparts, like China for example. Basically, for years Americans have spent their hard-earned dollars on less-expensive Chinese made goods. With great gratitude, China turned around and used all those dollars to buy up U.S. Treasuries and other dollar-denominated assets.

But now after years of reckless spending, America’s debt level is nearing a breaking point and can no longer rely on foreign capital as a last resort. “When a country reaches a certain debt level, confidence in that country’s ability to repay that debt becomes jeopardized,” says Gross, citing the work of Ken Rogoff and Carmen Reinhart in This Time Is Different.
The Way Forward...And Your Pocket Book

The budget crisis situation unfolding at the state and federal government level does not bode well for working men and women in this country. There are really only two choices, says Gross. And, neither favors your pocketbook:

* Option #1 – Keep spending and do nothing

* Option #2 – Balance our budgets by cutting entitlements

House Republicans ran and won on a platform to cut $100 billion from the budget this year and last month managed to pass legislation that would strip $61 billion in spending.

But for President Obama and Congressional Democrats, those cuts go way too far at a time when the country is still struggling to recover from the worst recession since the Great Depression. Goldman Sachs and Bill Gross agree and have warned that cutting too much could stifle growth. (See: Gross "self sustaining" clip)

Meanwhile, neither side as gotten serious about reforming entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare, which account for more than a third of Uncle Sam's budget.

If the country cannot come to grips and cut back on entitlement programs, U.S. debt will continue to grow and governments around the world will loose faith in the U.S. dollar. Foreign goods would become more expensive, says Gross, while our standard of living would drop.

Under the second option, if entitlement programs are cut, many Americans would naturally have to learn to live on less and take a hit to their standard of living.

“There is really no way out of this trap and this conundrum at this point,” says Gross. From an investment perspective his advice is to stay clear of “bonds in dollar denominated terms” and to be “wary of higher interest rates going forward.”

 

This is really interesting... I like the word naturally in this qoute though.

 

Bring on the VAT! Be ready America...be ready.

 

VAT will kill America

How do I know?

I came from a country that is impoverished under VAT

Current tax system is perfect that is why rich don't like it

 

The best days are behind us for most Americans. Those few at the top have effectively pulled up the ladder behind them ensuring those left behind will not have the same opportunities to advance.

 

The government has already solved this problem. Just print the money and place it on the Feds balance sheet. Easy as pie.

 

Take a plane ride across the pond and see how much a shirt or pair of pants costs. Prices are insanely high in the UK because of the VAT.

 

Class war waged and won.
Enemy only now beginning to suspect foul play

 

i have no problem with that cause i assume he talking about "public servants"..just passed by the condo of local police officer...it's a 750K brand new condo,2 new MB's in the garage and 2 harleys..fuck...me and my wife making six figures,but we can't afford this kind of living..wft is wrong with this country?

 

US Dollar getting "yanked" as worlds reserve currency will do PLENTY of paradigm shifting economic damage in the US before any VAT crap would ever get forced through. :eek: