Most dangerously, there is a risk of disruption to our bond and currency markets from the fear of much higher interest rates due to future imbalances or from fear of inflation because of efforts to monetize our debt.

by Robert Wenze at EconomicPolicyJournal.com

Global insiders are starting to gather in Davos, Switzerland for this [Jan 25 2011] week’s World Economic Forum. JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie “Obama’s Favorite Banker” Dimon will be there, as will be Treasury Secretary Geithner.

When attendees arrive and check in, they will be given their badges and a copy of a special Davos magazine, prepared especially for the event. In the magazine will be an article by Robert Rubin. He is an insider’s insider. Participants will read the article. Rubin is so wired in that when insiders think of the people who are operating behind a president, it is names like Rubin’s that come to mind. Jacob Lew the new director of the Office of Management and Budget is connected to Rubin. The old director of OMB, Peter Orszag, was connected to Rubin. The new head of the National Economic Council, Gene Sperling, is connected to Rubin, as was the previous NEC head, Larry Summers. It goes on. Rubin served as Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton. He was former co-CEO of Goldman Sachs. He is co-Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations. Got the idea? Insiders will read what he has written.

The first part of the article is about what the United States needs to do to get the economy going. It is a desperate shot taken at the buzzer from beyond half court. Rubin knows this. He is also a Keynesian, so his recommendations call for more spending that he hopes can be reversed in two or three years, once the economy “gets going”. It won’t work. The shot will fall short of the rim.

The second part of the article is much more significant. It is the breakdown of what is going wrong in the United States. An abbreviated version of the “Davos Warning” has been printed in FT.
Rubin wrote (my emphasis):

The risks of our fiscal position are serious and multiple. And while these risks become more severe over time as our debt position worsens, all of these either have begun to materialise or could do so in the near term, so we should act now.

What multiple shapes could the crisis take? Rubin writes to the Davos insiders (My emphasis):

To be specific about the risks, deficits could crowd out private investment, which could choke off a private investment recovery. Moreover, the capacity for public investment is already diminishing, and could be exacerbated by growing entitlement costs and mounting interest payments…

Most dangerously, there is a risk of disruption to our bond and currency markets from the fear of much higher interest rates due to future imbalances or from fear of inflation because of efforts to monetise our debt. The result could be significant deficit premiums on bond market interest rates, seriously impeding private investment and growth or, worse, acute bond market declines that cause an economic crisis. This could also start in the currency markets.

While the likelihood of major market disruptions is greater in the intermediate and longer term, the shorter-term risks are also real. Market psychology can change unexpectedly and dramatically – either on its own or because of some catalyst – when underlying conditions are unsound. Possible catalysts are a debt ceiling confrontation, currency market problems, and state deficits…

For emphasis, I remind you this is a former Treasury Secretary of the United States writing. One of President Obama’s top outside advisers. So does Rubin think there is an easy solution to the debt problem? He writes:

Growing out of our fiscal morass over time without policy action would require inconceivable rates of growth. Muddling through with unexpectedly favourable developments is extremely unlikely. The strong probability is that either we make the hard decisions so vital to our future, or we will be forced at some point to act more harshly and with less time to thoughtfully set priorities. Our long history of political and economic resilience should augur well. But these decisions are extremely difficult, and the question is whether we have the political will to face up to what we must do.

There you have it, from a man as inside as you can get:

…our structural fiscal trajectory is unsustainable with multiple, serious risks (while at the same time, our large cyclical deficits are exacerbating debt levels and interest costs)…

Bottom line: The United States is in serious financial and economic trouble. It is only a matter of time before the crisis explodes. Don’t take my word for it, just re-read what the former Treasury Secretary has to say. It’s all there.

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