This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly eBook: Carmen M. Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff: Kindle Store

Amazon.com: This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly eBook: Carmen M. Reinhart, Kenneth Rogoff: Kindle Store

Just starting to read this book. Anyone read it? Seems very data driven (not a narrative). I like it so far. A quick sample:

History shows, "A government does not have to worry too much about a debt crisis if it consistently runs fiscal surpluses, maintains relatively low debt levels, mostly borrows at longer-term maturities (say ten years or more), and does not have too many hidden off-balance sheet guarantees. In contrast, a government runs large deficits year after year, concentrating its borrowing at shorter-term maturities (of say one year or less), it becomes vulnerable , perhaps even at a debt level that should seem quite manageable."

The US government has chronic, large deficits. Almost all of the debt is at three years or less. And, we have HUGE off-balance sheet liabilities like Social Security, Medicaid, and Obamacare.

I'd say we are in deep shit.