4 ms·

And 10 years ago a US 10 year T bill was paying around 6% Why is anyone buying our T bills now when we are a worse credit risk and they are paying <4%

bd_at_rivenhill 17y ago
Because most of the other major developed world sources of government debt are probably in worse shape than we are.
- jbooth 17y ago
  Yep, risk premium -- people go to the dollar in times of stress. As long as we actually maintain our position as the world's most stable economy, that is. Doubling our debt in the last decade didn't help. What did we see from that again?
  - asmithmd1 17y ago
    Tax cuts in capitol gains, lowering the tax rate on income over $250k/year, and yet another protectorate to add to our collection. You mean to tell me you didn't benefit from those tax cuts?
    - jbooth 17y ago
      Well, according to supply-side economics, it reduced the deficit. That helped all of us!
    - anamax 17y ago
      > Tax cuts in capitol gains, lowering the tax rate on income over $250k/year, And the tax system became more progressive. The share of taxes paid by the top 1, 5, and 10% went up. > You mean to tell me you didn't benefit from those tax cuts? Now half of US workers don't pay federal income tax. It's hard to cut their taxes more. (Yes, the poor pay SS, and it's a greater percentage of their income, but they get it back with interest. The rich don't break even on SS.) Is that good? What fraction of the tax burden should fall on each income cohort?
      - asmithmd1 17y ago
        From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Karl Marx
      - jbooth 17y ago
        No, it didn't, the distribution of wealth just intensified. More $, more taxes. The % of income paid as taxes by those people went down. As a matter of fact, people in the top tax brackets typically pay a lower % of their income in taxes than their secretaries. EDIT: Also, where does this persistent myth that "half of all people pay no federal income taxes" come from? They do pay federal income tax. When I had summer jobs I paid income tax beyond FICA. When I made small money right out of college I paid income tax beyond FICA. I'm guessing it's the same story for you, as well. Poor memory?
        anamax 17y ago
        > The % of income paid as taxes by those people went down. How about some actual data? Note that tax rates aren't the whole story. And, even if it was true, that doesn't tell us what fraction of the tax revenues that they're paying. Do you really think that it's good when most people don't have much, if any, skin in the game? (As CA is discovering, collecting the bulk of your revenue from a small number of people makes tax revenues very volatile.) > As a matter of fact, people in the top tax brackets typically pay a lower % of their income in taxes than their secretaries. Nope. They pay higher rates on their earned income and they pay higher rates on the investment income. You're "confusing" the two. And, their deductions are phased out. > Also, where does this persistent myth that "half of all people pay no federal income taxes" come from? The IRS. http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521... The relevant data is formatted better in http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html > When I made small money right out of college I paid income tax beyond FICA. You may have had it deducted fromyour paycheck, but unless you were someone's dependent, you could have gotten it refunded.
        jbooth 17y ago
    - anamax 17y ago
      > Tax cuts in capitol gains Didn't Obama promise that during the SOTU last night. If so, what's your objection to Bush actually doing so?
mynameishere 17y ago
and they are paying <4% Try <0% http://www.zerohedge.com/article/flight-capital-back-1-month-bill-now-negative http://www.zerohedge.com/article/flight-capital-back-1-month...
- asmithmd1 17y ago
  That is for 1 month T-Bills. For 10 year T-Bills it is around 3.75%
  - mynameishere 17y ago
    It's not a big deal, but the bills are a year or less, and the longest is fetching an awesome 0.3 percent http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates/index.html http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates/index.html
    - mynameishere 17y ago
      5 hours later, they dropped 7 basis points. Unreal.

bd_at_rivenhill 17y ago

Because most of the other major developed world sources of government debt are probably in worse shape than we are.

jbooth 17y ago
Yep, risk premium -- people go to the dollar in times of stress. As long as we actually maintain our position as the world's most stable economy, that is. Doubling our debt in the last decade didn't help. What did we see from that again?
- asmithmd1 17y ago
  Tax cuts in capitol gains, lowering the tax rate on income over $250k/year, and yet another protectorate to add to our collection. You mean to tell me you didn't benefit from those tax cuts?
  - jbooth 17y ago
    Well, according to supply-side economics, it reduced the deficit. That helped all of us!
  - anamax 17y ago
    > Tax cuts in capitol gains, lowering the tax rate on income over $250k/year, And the tax system became more progressive. The share of taxes paid by the top 1, 5, and 10% went up. > You mean to tell me you didn't benefit from those tax cuts? Now half of US workers don't pay federal income tax. It's hard to cut their taxes more. (Yes, the poor pay SS, and it's a greater percentage of their income, but they get it back with interest. The rich don't break even on SS.) Is that good? What fraction of the tax burden should fall on each income cohort?
    - asmithmd1 17y ago
      From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Karl Marx
    - jbooth 17y ago
      No, it didn't, the distribution of wealth just intensified. More $, more taxes. The % of income paid as taxes by those people went down. As a matter of fact, people in the top tax brackets typically pay a lower % of their income in taxes than their secretaries. EDIT: Also, where does this persistent myth that "half of all people pay no federal income taxes" come from? They do pay federal income tax. When I had summer jobs I paid income tax beyond FICA. When I made small money right out of college I paid income tax beyond FICA. I'm guessing it's the same story for you, as well. Poor memory?
      - anamax 17y ago
        > The % of income paid as taxes by those people went down. How about some actual data? Note that tax rates aren't the whole story. And, even if it was true, that doesn't tell us what fraction of the tax revenues that they're paying. Do you really think that it's good when most people don't have much, if any, skin in the game? (As CA is discovering, collecting the bulk of your revenue from a small number of people makes tax revenues very volatile.) > As a matter of fact, people in the top tax brackets typically pay a lower % of their income in taxes than their secretaries. Nope. They pay higher rates on their earned income and they pay higher rates on the investment income. You're "confusing" the two. And, their deductions are phased out. > Also, where does this persistent myth that "half of all people pay no federal income taxes" come from? The IRS. http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521,00.html http://www.irs.gov/taxstats/indtaxstats/article/0,,id=133521... The relevant data is formatted better in http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html http://www.taxfoundation.org/news/show/250.html > When I made small money right out of college I paid income tax beyond FICA. You may have had it deducted fromyour paycheck, but unless you were someone's dependent, you could have gotten it refunded.
        jbooth 17y ago
  - anamax 17y ago
    > Tax cuts in capitol gains Didn't Obama promise that during the SOTU last night. If so, what's your objection to Bush actually doing so?

mynameishere 17y ago

and they are paying <4% Try <0% http://www.zerohedge.com/article/flight-capital-back-1-month-bill-now-negative http://www.zerohedge.com/article/flight-capital-back-1-month...

asmithmd1 17y ago
That is for 1 month T-Bills. For 10 year T-Bills it is around 3.75%
- mynameishere 17y ago
  It's not a big deal, but the bills are a year or less, and the longest is fetching an awesome 0.3 percent http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates/index.html http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/rates/index.html
  - mynameishere 17y ago
    5 hours later, they dropped 7 basis points. Unreal.