THE $64 TRILLION QUESTION
September 2007, Wealth Manager magazine
Is the long-term budget outlook really a ticking time bomb—and does the Federal Government need a financial advisor?
By James Picerno
A national debt, Alexander
Hamilton advised a young republic struggling
with finances, will be a “national
blessing.” By that standard, the United
States is free of fiscal sin in the 21st century.
But even Hamiltonian notions of
economic absolution have limits. For all
his faith in debt as a tool for nation building,
America’s first Treasury secretary was
careful to qualify his counsel, explaining
that a “blessing” would come only if the
liabilities were “not excessive.”