The report released by NPR seems real has anyone seen more documentation?During the Clinton years American and European debt had reached such low levels that there was concern there would not be sufficient investment vehicles for long term financing of pension funds. It seems Clinton administration officials actually wrote up a projection showing that the entire Federal debt could be paid off in less than two decades if surpluses continued (1). Planet Money acquired the documents under the Freedom of Information Act and NPR posted them as a pdf. The production of new debt in the Bush years combining military expenditures and tax cuts with the elimination of the Glas-Steagell limitations created the conditions for an explosion of debt in many sectors of the economy including housing, fed also by the policies of the Federal Reserve under Alan Greenspan. The current crisis was an example of how the financial industry can produce tremendous harm infecting the entire economic system.
1. SECOND INTERAGENCY DRAFT 11/3/00 PRELIMINARY & CLOSE HOLD CHAPTER 2 Page 1 OFFICIAL USE ONL Y
Life After Debt (http://www.npr.org/...)