Ezra Klein explains daily treasury real yield curve rates

On yesterday’s Rachel Maddow show, I was excited to see the Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein (hosting for Ms Maddow while she’s on vacation) use a government document to make a very cogent point.

In discussing a story by the NY Times “Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling”, Klein opined that now is the perfect time for the Federal government to spend on infrastructure projects. He explained that the US Treasury’s Daily Treasury Real Yield Curve Rates are currently negative. That is, people are buying treasury bonds knowing full well that the return will be less than the original price of the treasury bond. Therefore, the US Congress refusing to spend on badly needed infrastructure rejuvenation (see NY Times article above) is “financial mismanagement on an epic scale!”

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