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Bookmark These: Analyzing the debt debate By Reid Kanaley
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | (MCT) Controversy over the federal debt isn't going away soon. Public debt is an issue in our pockets and around the world. These sites explore it. -Thinking of making a loan to the federal government? It's easy to do at the Treasury Direct website. The site includes this page on "the debt to the penny and who holds it." It breaks down the $14.7 trillion in U.S. government debt and who holds it, though the figures were a day behind when we checked. There is also a handy calculator for determining how big the debt was on any particular date. http://is.gd/5itcZz -The site even has a "kids" page with video clips of Superman and others pushing the purchase of U.S. savings bonds. http://is.gd/yyECIE -Does government debt really weaken the economy? This NPR report by Jim Zarroli says it's not a simple question, despite the rhetoric. http://is.gd/ldU7Iv -For a really wonkish take on the subject of national debts and how governments may contrive to "inflate away" their debts by locking in bonds at below-inflation interest rates, try reading this March working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper is posted at the site of the International Monetary Fund. http://is.gd/3E9e4C -Get the latest headlines on the U.S. government debt. Bloomberg News has set up this page. Check it often to see how the debt issue is playing out in the stock and bond markets, and for developments in how politicians and other policymakers are trying to shape the debt issue. http://is.gd/mfFG9c -Op-eds and other writings on economic matters by the fellows and staffers of the Council on Foreign Relations include such recent titles as "How to reverse the global economic slowdown," "Who would bail out the European Central Bank" and "The one thing Congress can do to help the markets." Since one historical analysis says markets tend to do better when the government is in recess, the answer would be for Congress to do nothing. http://is.gd/CFFoQC
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