Tagged: Debt

America, if you're scared by all the talk you've been hearing about the fiscal cliff, take heart: There are reasons for people across the political spectrum to love the cliff.

There's a lot for liberals to like in the fiscal cliff, says Matthew Yglesias, who writes wonky articles about economics for Slate.

Wars are expensive, and governments have always borrowed money to fight them. But it wasn't until the 20th century — the age of advertising — that governments started using war as a marketing tool to encourage citizens to buy government bonds.

To raise money for World War I, the U.S. government issued "Liberty Bonds," and launched an ad campaign full of dramatic, frightening posters.

For World War II, the government ditched the "liberty" euphemism and got straight to the point. It issued "war bonds," which were accompanied by a massive promotional campaign.

Let's do this one as a list:

1. The Argentine navy owns and operates a giant sailing ship. (This is relatively common, as it turns out.)

2. A hedge fund called Elliott Associates owns a bunch of bad Argentine bonds — basically, loans Argentina decided not to repay.

Detroit officials face a tough vote Tuesday as they try to keep their city from going over its own "fiscal cliff." If the mayor and City Council cannot agree on a plan to reduce the city's budget deficit, state officials are poised to take away their power and assume total control over Detroit's finances.

It's been a continuing vicious cycle: Detroit's population exodus, lost tax revenue and chronic mismanagement have left the city burning through cash to the point where the state of Michigan has to provide funding to help the city meet payroll for the next few months.