The world desperately wants to loan us money

The world desperately wants to loan us money

"The Financial Times reports that there was record demand for 10-year Treasurys this week. ‘The $21 [billion] sale of 10-year paper sold at a yield of 1.459 per cent, the lowest ever in an auction.’"

"But that 1.459 percent doesn’t account for inflation. And so when you do account for inflation, it’s not “almost nothing.” It’s “less than nothing.”"

"The market will literally pay us a small premium to take their money and keep it safe for them for five, seven or 10 years. We could use that money to rebuild our roads and water filtration systems. We could use that money to cut taxes for any business that adds to its payrolls. We could use that to hire back the 600,000 state and local workers we’ve laid off in the last few years."

It's been this way for a while and I don't understand why no one other than Klein and Krugman is talking about it. The federal government can get paid to borrow money and invest in our infrastructure. This is free stimulus money but no, the conversation is driven by Republicans talking about debt and the fear of inflation. It's a completely alternate reality.