What’s Different About Today’s Government Deficit and Debt?
As of today, the U.S. government’s current deficit and debt are indeed currently at unprecedented levels for peacetime—once we account for them appropriately.
In today's New York Times, an interesting piece about a deal struck between the SEC and five investment banks to provide them with "an exemption for their brokerage units from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on. The exemption would unshackle billions of dollars held in reserve as a cushion against losses on their investments." One of the banks was Goldman Sachs, headed by Henry Paulson.
Here's the really interesting bit:
Read the rest of the article.