The following story from Cyprus reminds me of Ben Bernanke testifying before Congress that he would not monetize our debt:
That was back on June 3, 2009. The facts are presented below:
Projected and Recent US Federal Debt Numbers
| Gross Federal Debt |
Debt Held by Public |
Debt Held by Federal Reserve |
|
| FY 2013* | $17.5 trillion | $10.6 trillion | $2.1 trillion |
| FY 2012* | $16.4 trillion | $9.7 trillion | $1.9 trillion |
| FY 2011 | $14.8 trillion | $8.5 trillion | $1.7 trillion |
| FY 2010 | $13.5 trillion | $8.2 trillion | $0.8 trillion |
| FY 2009 | $11.9 trillion | $6.8 trillion | $0.8 trillion |
| FY 2008 | $10.0 trillion | $5.3 trillion | $0.5 trillion |
We know where this will end but we do not know when.
David DeGerolamo
After reading this memo from the Central Bank of Cyprus sent to bank CEOs on February 11, arguably to put them at ease, all we can say is “Oooops”…
