I think we can all agree that there has been plenty to be concerned about in the last, say, five years. Some are environmental issues, some are social and, for community bankers, plenty are economical. What gets a lot of play in the business, and even mainstream media, is our growing national debt. There’s no doubt that the mountain of borrowings that keeps our federal government liquid and solvent is greater than ever before. It’s not surprising to me that there’s spirited debate about debt limits, or if Congress will ever in our lifetimes find a way to slow our dependence on deficit spending. Related to this conversation is the concern that, to paraphrase Blanche DuBois, we have always depended on the kindness of strangers. It seems self-evident that foreign central banks have propped up our debt market for decades, buying dollar-denominated securities by the trillions, thereby keeping our borrowing costs manageable, and potentially even encouraging our bad behavior by going ever deeper in debt. But is any of this true? Walked, Then Ran First, let’s try to get our minds around the situation. The Federal government first borrowed money before there was a Federal government, when the Dutch and the French loaned money to the Continental Congress to help finance the Revolutionary War. Treasury borrowings, as we know them today, sort of date back to World War I, with the issuance of “Liberty Bonds,” which was just after WORLDWIDE DEMAND BUYERS OF U.S. DEBT COME IN MANY SHAPES AND SIZES By Jim Reber, President and CEO, ICBA Securities 10 The CommunityBanker
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