CERF Blog

How much debt is it reasonable for individuals to undertake?  I propose two criteria for answering this question.  First, you must be able to service the debt.  Second, the debt should be “productive” in the sense that the benefits of the activity being financed are greater than the cost of the debt.  These criteria can… Read more

In the fiscal year beginning October 2008 (the 2009 fiscal year), federal government spending exploded from 20.8 percent of GDP to 25.2 percent of GDP.  This was due to a confluence of factors including a decline in GDP due to the recession, an increase in automatic expenditures such as unemployment insurance, the $750 billion Toxic… Read more