That's because Kazakhstan is sitting on top of a known twenty billion barrel oil field controlled by a government monopoly. At $70/barrel that gives them 1.4 tr

That's because Kazakhstan is sitting on top of a known twenty billion barrel oil field controlled by a government monopoly. At $70/barrel that gives them 1.4 trillion dollars of liquid assets (literally). Between that at 100 trillion known cubic feet of gas (at $5-$10/1000 cubic feet, do the math) I wouldn't be too worried about them defaulting on their debts. California, on the other hand...