An American Gov debt of 5% is sustainable, in my view.

Japan’s attempts to stimulate its domestic economy will not be able to change the fact that its biggest trading partners, from the United States to China and the European Union, are also wallowing in recession, and a period of low demand will last for some time.

Japan, like many countries, miscalculated its 2008 budget, winding up with a 47.8 percent deficit (rather than the predicted 35 percent). In 2008, Tokyo’s expenditures leaped above predictions by 7 percent (to 88.9 trillion yen, or US$952 billion), while revenues fell a shocking 15 percent below expectations (to 46.4 trillion yen or US$497 billion). The value of the deficit amounted to 8 percent of Japan’s GDP of 510.2 trillion yen (US$5.5 trillion).

The proposed 2009 budget, which includes the aforementioned 2008 supplementary budget plus further stimulus efforts, will be Japan’s biggest yet at 88 trillion yen (US$942 billion). If it is approved, Tokyo’s total fiscal stimulus to the financial crisis will amount to 12 trillion yen (US$128 billion) or about 2.3 percent of GDP, a full percentage point higher than similar efforts by Japan’s peers.

Japan’s central and local government debt is expected to jump to 157 percent of GDP in 2009, up from 154 percent in 2008.

In worst case the Obama budget would push us to 5%, so lets be about it and rebuild America.

U.S. International Reserve Position

U.S. International Reserve Position

The Treasury Department has stated this month that the U.S. reserve assets data for the past week. According to the US Treasury the U.S. reserve assets totaled $74,132 million as of the end of that week, compared to $73,683 million as of the end of the prior week.

Notes:

1/ Includes holdings of the Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF) and the Federal Reserve's System Open Market Account (SOMA), valued at current market exchange rates. Foreign currency holdings listed as securities reflect marked-to-market values, and deposits reflect carrying values.

2/ The items, "2. IMF Reserve Position" and "3. Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)," are based on data provided by the IMF and are valued in dollar terms at the official SDR/dollar exchange rate for the reporting date. The entries for the latest week reflect any necessary adjustments, including revaluation, by the U.S. Treasury to IMF data for the prior month end.

3/ Gold stock is valued monthly at $42.2222 per fine troy ounce.

4/ The short positions reflect foreign exchange acquired under reciprocal currency arrangements with certain foreign central banks. The foreign exchange acquired is not included in Section I, "official reserve assets and other foreign currency assets," of the template for reporting international reserves. However, it is included in the broader balance of payments presentation as "U.S. Government assets, other than official reserve assets/U.S. foreign currency holdings and U.S. short-term assets."

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act's Broadband

The U.S. Congress has appropriated $4.7 billion to establish a Broadband Technology Opportunities Program for awards to eligible entities to develop and expand broadband services to rural and underserved areas and improve access to broadband by public safety agencies. Of these funds, $250 million will be available for innovative programs that encourage sustainable adoption of broadband services; at least $200 million will be available to upgrade technology and capacity at public computing centers, including community colleges and public libraries; $10 million will be a transfer to the Office of Inspector General for the purposes of BTOP audits and oversight. Up to $350 million of the BTOP funding is designated for the development and maintenance of statewide broadband inventory maps.

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Our [MDi Co-Founder(s)] network proposal of a fiber to the edge network with a million dynamic bandwidth spread spectrum frequency hopping wireless network access points serving American's 200 million undeserved people while creating over 200,000 jobs through 2010 that last through 2020 as we erase the digital divide in America and again make us Number 1.

Treasury Announces Auto Supplier Support Program

Treasury Announces Auto Supplier Support Program

Program Will Aid Critical Sector of American Economy

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced a new program to help stabilize the auto supply base and restore credit flows in a critical sector of the American economy. As the President's Task Force on the Auto Industry continues to review restructuring plans submitted by General Motors and Chrysler, Treasury announced an Auto Supplier Support Program that will provide up to $5 billion in financing, giving suppliers the confidence they need to continue shipping parts, pay their employees and continue their operations.

As rising unemployment and contracting credit continue to threaten economic recovery, today's announcement will support an industry employing more than 500,000 American workers across the country. Because of the credit crisis and the rapid decline in auto sales, many of the nation's auto parts suppliers are unable to access credit and are facing growing uncertainty about the prospects for their businesses and for the auto companies that rely on the parts they ship. This program will help break this cycle and provide confidence in the supplier base at an important time for the domestic auto industry. It is part of the Administration's broader efforts to ensure that our Financial Stability Plan reaches the main street businesses that create good jobs for American workers.

"The Supplier Support Program will help stabilize a critical component of the American auto industry during the difficult period of restructuring the lies ahead, " said Treasury Secretary Geithner. "The program will provide supply companies with much needed access to liquidity to assist them in meeting payrolls and covering their expenses, while giving the domestic auto companies reliable access to the parts they need. "

An overview of the Auto Supplier Support Program is below. A full fact sheet on the program can be found here:

http://www.treas.gov/press/releases/docs/supplier_support_program_3_18.pdf

• The program will provide suppliers with access to government-backed protection that money owed to them for the products they ship will be paid no matter what happens to the recipient car company.
  
  
• Participating suppliers will also be able to sell their receivables into the program at a modest discount. This will provide suppliers with desperately needed funding to operate their businesses and help unlock credit more broadly in the supplier industry.
  
  
• The program will be run through American auto companies that agree to participate in the program. Suppliers to those companies that agree to maintain qualifying commercial terms will have the opportunity to request this government backed protection. If granted, the supplier will pay a small fee for the right to participate in the program.
  
  
• The Treasury Department has made available up to $5 billion in financing under this program.

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Treasury Announces Auto Supplier Support Program

U.S. Department of the Treasury · 1500 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20220 · (202) 622-2000

Obama Administration Launches New Consumer Website For Responsible Homeowners Seeking Relief

Administration Launches New Consumer Website For Responsible Homeowners Seeking Relief

MakingHomeAffordable.gov Features Self Assessment Tools, Calculators
to Help Borrowers Determine Eligibility, Payment Reductions
under Administration's Refinancing and Loan Modification Program

Washington, DC-- The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today launched a new website for consumers seeking information about the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification and refinancing program. MakingHomeAffordable.gov offers features including interactive self-assessment tools that will empower borrowers to determine if they're eligible to participate and calculate the monthly mortgage payment reductions they could stand to realize under the Making Home Affordable program.

First announced by President Barack Obama in February, Making Home Affordable will offer assistance to as many as 7 to 9 million homeowners making a good-faith effort to make their mortgage payments, while attempting to prevent the destructive impact of the housing crisis on families and communities. MakingHomeAffordable.gov is a joint effort of the Department of the Treasury and HUD.

"Education and outreach is central to the success of our Making Home Affordable program," said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "Putting resources and tools directly in the hands of homeowners will expedite the process of delivering relief to responsible borrowers, and stabilizing the housing market is central to our overall economic recovery."

"The tools offered on this site will help American families access the help they need even faster," said HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. "Communicating how this program works and who is eligible to those who need it is critical to the program's success, and this website does just that."

Since releasing the guidelines to enable servicers to begin modifications of eligible mortgages under Making Home Affordable on March 4^th, representatives from Treasury, HUD and other members of a broad interagency task force have conducted detailed briefings and training sessions for mortgage loan servicers and investors, nonprofit housing counselors and nationwide borrower advocacy groups. Through these early and aggressive efforts to arm those interacting directly with borrowers with information, interagency representatives have briefed more than 2,500 participants on the Administration's plans in the last two weeks.

A wide array of large banks to small lenders have already agreed to participate in Making Home Affordable, and servicers have undertaken steps to proactively engage borrowers and respond to their inquiries related to the new program. For example, JP Morgan Chase has put several special tools into place and initiated proactive solicitations to eligible borrowers around the Making Home Affordable program, including an online site to provide program details and allow borrowers to download a new financial information package; increased staffing in a dedicated service center that provides simple entry point for all borrowers, including CHASE, heritage Washington Mutual and EMC; a partnership with Fannie Mae to solicit over 125,000 eligible borrowers; and solicitation to an additional 180,000 non-GSE eligible borrowers.

With those wheels in motion, the Administration is now accelerating efforts to communicate directly with borrowers about the Making Home Affordable program. Features of the MakingHomeAffordable.gov website launched today include:

• Extensive information about the Administration's Making Home Affordable plan
• Self assessment tools to allow borrowers to determine if they are eligible for the program
• A calculator feature that allows homeowners to estimate the reduction to their monthly mortgage payment that they might stand to realize under the plan
• Resources to find free, HUD-approved counseling services for borrowers who have additional questions
• A handy checklist to ensure homeowners collect all the documents they need before calling their servicers

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Administration Launches New Consumer Website For Responsible Homeowners Seeking Relief

LINKS

• MakingHomeAffordable.gov