Global Government Debt Is Actually Triple What We Thought, Thanks to Pensions

$44 trillion is the "accounted for" debt of 20 industrialized nations.

If that's not bad enough, their combined debt included unfunded (mostly future pensions) is a whopping $122 trillion !!!

With governments arguing over politics and religion, the real money seems to disappearing faster than you can wink a billion dollars away.

Eventually a few well timed disasters and crises will cause worldwide panic and death.

A report from Citigroup outlines the massiveness.

Wake up people, you won't be able to hide once the chainsaw engines start.

Governments will be falling like balloons with no helium.

And remember: governments are only as good as the geniuses running the printing presses !!!

Global Government Debt Is Actually Triple What We Thought, Thanks to Pensions

Government debt in 20 industrialized countries stands at $44 trillion.

But it’s actually a lot more than that, according to a new report. After factoring in public pension and other retirement liabilities, the debt levels nearly triple to a staggering $122 trillion.

That’s the math according to a new report from Citigroup Inc report called, “The Coming Pensions Crisis,” which analyzed government pension liabilities from 20 countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“It is really a ticking time bomb,” said Charles Millard, Citi’s head of pension relations and former head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the U.S. safety net for private-sector pensions.

Who is going to Pay ??

Only 6% of money at any time is real physical hard currency. The other 94% is electronic "bits". This money is "borrowed" by governments from international money lenders. It has to be paid back using taxes, interest and other money extraction schemes from the population. The only way this can work is if each national economy continues to grow.

I heard something this am about the future of money. Quantitative Easing (printing of money) isn't going to work forever, they have to start charging interest at the banks. So people will take their money out of banks and start keeping it in their mattress, so they will have to go cashless to prevent that.

Relationships are strengthened through complex games of racking up debts. I think we decided to shoulder shrug this "problem" after the last financial crisis. Nobody big enough to take the system down will be called out to pay up. The game will play on.

These pensions will be payed out with rising inflation so as to devalue the chunks given out. If inflation is raised, the ratio of debt to gdp can potentially drop. Realize this number is to be given in the future spread out over time. If we consider this time period compared to the combined gdp of the nation's over this same time period, the number is far less scary.

The world is playing a game of Monopoly. The game is over and there are no winners. All debt should be forgiven and new rules forged and enforced. It's time to gather-up the game pieces, fold up the game board and start a new game.

It grinds my gears when people think the debt can be paid.

The fact that the money was conjured out out of thin air, and loaned at interest... by definition there's more debt than money.

Shut it down while we still have the chance to get through this alive.

Well, it's not something that's going to happen at once, nevertheless these forecasts are measured against GDP and the taxation thereon, which has to be something of a wild figure when so many companies, well....really big corp, are simply not paying enough taxes, and avoiding taxes, and it seems that some governments are a bit too cosy with the big corp, the UK is for sure. It's one thing to encourage growth, it's another to lick arses, and man, are they licking arses here.

I wouldn't be surprised if much of what is missing, and there is missing money for sure, ($21 trillion in the figures from The Guardian story below) is sitting places like Abu Dhabi, and the like, as well as the big boys in Switzerland etc;

www.theguardian.com...

There's far more to consider too, Trillions in missing money from the GDP in developing countries,

www.ibtimes.com...

And never mind that, terorism is big business now, not that any politician is going make much noise about it, but the like of IS are into big oil, and who's doing the books there?

Too much slipping under the radar don't you think?

They are doing their best to kill off all the old people to correct this problem. Have patients and take some prozac or paxil.

originally posted by: WeRpeons
The world is playing a game of Monopoly. The game is over and there are no winners. All debt should be forgiven and new rules forged and enforced. It's time to gather-up the game pieces, fold up the game board and start a new game.

Government Debt = Peoples Savings. What you are proposing is that we should wipe out peoples savings and pensions.

originally posted by: lordcomac
It grinds my gears when people think the debt can be paid.

The fact that the money was conjured out out of thin air, and loaned at interest... by definition there's more debt than money.

Shut it down while we still have the chance to get through this alive.

Yes money is conjured out of thin air (or more accurately typed on a computer screen). Therefore by definition it can be repaid.

originally posted by: pl3bscheese
Relationships are strengthened through complex games of racking up debts. I think we decided to shoulder shrug this "problem" after the last financial crisis. Nobody big enough to take the system down will be called out to pay up. The game will play on.

These pensions will be payed out with rising inflation so as to devalue the chunks given out. If inflation is raised, the ratio of debt to gdp can potentially drop. Realize this number is to be given in the future spread out over time. If we consider this time period compared to the combined gdp of the nation's over this same time period, the number is far less scary.

It isn't just inflation general GDP growth will bring down the debt ratio (as in post WW2). You are right that in context it is far less scary (except for people with a phobia for big numbers)

originally posted by: xuenchen
$44 trillion is the "accounted for" debt of 20 industrialized nations.

If that's not bad enough, their combined debt included unfunded (mostly future pensions) is a whopping $122 trillion !!!

With governments arguing over politics and religion, the real money seems to disappearing faster than you can wink a billion dollars away.

Eventually a few well timed disasters and crises will cause worldwide panic and death.

A report from Citigroup outlines the massiveness.

Wake up people, you won't be able to hide once the chainsaw engines start.

Governments will be falling like balloons with no helium.

And remember: governments are only as good as the geniuses running the printing presses !!!

Global Government Debt Is Actually Triple What We Thought, Thanks to Pensions

Government debt in 20 industrialized countries stands at $44 trillion.

But it’s actually a lot more than that, according to a new report. After factoring in public pension and other retirement liabilities, the debt levels nearly triple to a staggering $122 trillion.

That’s the math according to a new report from Citigroup Inc report called, “The Coming Pensions Crisis,” which analyzed government pension liabilities from 20 countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

“It is really a ticking time bomb,” said Charles Millard, Citi’s head of pension relations and former head of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, the U.S. safety net for private-sector pensions.

Who is going to Pay ??

44 trillion is the "accounted for" debt of 20 industrialized nations. Who are they in debt to did the report say? I bet it it didn't memtion that. Funny how we all seem to be in debt but no body ever seems to say to whom we are in debt to.

Strange that the reasons for debt are always ascribed to some aspect of social welfare for individuals.

Funny how national debt is never ascribed to:

Corporate welfare
the absence of a tax on share trades
tax evasion by the rich
low rates of company tax
the war industry
the spying and surveillance industry

Does it not strike you as odd that the people at the bottom end of the sociology-economic pile always seem to be cause of national debt?

Look it's worthless pieces of paper.

It's fractional reserve currency which means only 1% whatever the number is of it is actually tied to a physical asset the rest of it is a gamble and can collapse at anytime when people realize it's worthless.

Why don't we learn that in school?

originally posted by: onequestion
Look it's worthless pieces of paper.

It's fractional reserve currency which means only 1% whatever the number is of it is actually tied to a physical asset the rest of it is a gamble and can collapse at anytime when people realize it's worthless.

Why don't we learn that in school?

It's all debt, they loan it to you to use to purchase goods which in turn is returned back to them when again they create even more worthless money out of that money and lend it out and he cycle continues.

You are confusing two separate things. It is a fiat currency and we have reserve banking (which ins't really reserve banking but that is complicating things a little).

Government issued money has no backing either (other than the fact that it is required to pay taxes). Banks issue IOU's on themselves (denominated in the government currency) that everyone accepts because everyone accepts them.

Neither of these things is by itself a bad thing. The bad thing is that people (and most members of government ) don't get this either and act as if we are still on a backed currency.

a reply to: stormcell

But as the economy grows so does the debt. Money is debt. There is no way to pay back any nations debt, because even if we gave back all the money we'd still have the interest from borrowing it.

a reply to: Enlil2215
The money supply isn't fixed. The US could if wanted expand its money supply tomorrow and pay back all interest bearing debt instantly. (this would be a very bad idea for a number of reasons but it could be done)

a reply to: Azureblue

Higher taxes ?

I find it ironic that it's Citigroup griping about this. After all, they played a major role in the housing crash, received $476.2 billion in the Tarp funds, and have been enjoying zero interest rates from the fed ever since.

how about before we start slashing social security and people's pension funds, they return some of the money that was swiped from the economy through the housing scam???

www.cnbc.com...

sorry, mistake..

a reply to: ScepticScot

Government Debt = Peoples Savings. What you are proposing is that we should wipe out peoples savings and pensions.

According to the current rules. A new system can be designed to exclude savings and pensions. The entire system would be revamped. Pensions and savings don't have to be touched. Consider it free money for those who have them now to minimize the negative effect on a country's citizen's. We either do a reset or we wait until we create a hole so big we can't crawl out of. We need to look at this through a whole new perspective.