There is no question Governements are addicted to debt. Give people access to a huge credit card limit, and they will spend. Behavioral psychology manifest at a high-level.
Apparently heroin addicts can become so drug dependent their bodies cannot withstand the shock of withdrawal, and failure to continue taking the drug triggers multiple organ failures. I just wonder how apt that analogy is to our governments? debt dependency today. As long as governments think that taking these difficult decisions to end the addiction will be easier in the future than it is today, they will never take the decision “today.” At the very least, there will have to be a sufficiently large bond market “event” to force the issue.
"Off-balance sheet" liabilities include other government promises such as social security, medicare, currency swaps, derivatives, etc.
source:
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/just-how-ugly-sovereign-default-truth-how-self-delusions-prevent-recognition-reality?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+zerohedge%2Ffeed+%28zero+hedge+-+on+a+long+enough+timeline%2C+the+survival+rate+for+everyone+drops+to+zero%29
