The national media and economists say that Japan has the highest public debt of any developed nation, but the reality is the U.S. government's debt load is much bigger and much worse.
New research from Markus Jaeger, director of global risk analysis and Deutsche Bank observes: "When assessing public-sector debt sustainability, it would be negligent to disregard implicit government liabilities. Gross and net debt ratios provide merely a snapshot, failing to capture medium-and long-term fiscal dynamics. If one sums up government debt and the implicit debt arising from government pension and healthcare spending commitments (appropriately discounted), the U.S. government's debt is almost twice as large as Japan's and almost three times as large as Germany's."
Source: NewsOnJapan
