Being very concerned about the level of our national debt and the threat it poses to our future economic security, a
New York Times column by Floyd Norris caught my eye today. The article discussed foreign holders of U.S. Treasuries. It included a
chart listing the top holders of U.S. debt. But that chart EXCLUDED two of the top debt holders listed on the
U.S. Treasury website.
The chart lists the top ten holders (which are actually only part of the top 12 from the Treasury page), and the dollar amounts listed accurately reflect the numbers from the Treasury. But these two from The Treasuries top ten are omitted:
#4 Oil Exporting Countries (3) $ 104.8 billion.
#5 Caribbean banking centers (4) $ 68.2 billion.
Why is the New York Times excluding these figures? Obviously they are both politically sensitive figures. The first because it affirms our extraordinary dependence and support of oil exporting nations, many of which are outright enemies, or at best uncertain friends of the U.S.
The second because it represents the extraordinary greed of a certain class of the very wealthy.
It is this second category that really gets my blood boiling.
$68 billion! Stashed away on a handful of small Caribbean islands! What is this $68 billion? Is this money that Central and South American investors have tucked away? Is it money that drug lords have stashed away? If that's the case, your tax dollars are further enriching them. Or is it money that the wealthiest of Americans have hidden to avoid paying U.S. taxes? In which case, not only do they avoid their taxes, but your tax dollars are used to pay interest to them. Americans, who are paying interest on that debt, should demand some answers.
Our nationally treasury is under constant assault by war profiteers, health care profiteers, and out and out thieves. The American tax payer bears the burden. We do not need the additional burden of supporting criminals and tax dodgers with interest payments on U.S. debt. Our government should identify the holders of this Caribbean debt. If they are tax dodgers or criminals, then the government should pass laws that make that debt subject to seizure.
Floyd Norris and The New York Times should also explain why these important numbers were not included in their article.