My Dear Peter, there is going to be a default, it is just a matter of when. Although there are lies, damn lies and statwistics the debt problem is bookkeeping and the only lies here are those designed to forestall fixing the problem. Which problem is, borrowing money, we as a people cannot hope to repay, and aren't even attempting to, since the record shows America hasn't been debt free since 1835.

USGovernment, especially at the Federal level, will eventually be unable to service the interest on the debt. By some accounts we're not even paying all of the interest on the debt every month.

Obama is fear mongering, and it is working because it is unlikely SSI and Disability are not going to be cut off this August. Certainly there is no necessity.

A much more likely scenario is one morning America will wake up only to discover there has been a bank holiday overnight and their purchasing power has been reduced by 40%, or some such, without warning. Hyperinflation probably will begin to apply shortly thereafter.

So grow those gardens, save those seeds, learn to store and provide for yourself, it'll really give the neighbors something to be envious about.

peaceably,

PS This is the end of it for me too Peter, all the best Mon. But before I go, search The Age of Austerity, it's a growing theme in the journals of record.