Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio is reaching unsustainable levels. But why should the debt load of such a small country cause such outsized tremors in global financial markets?Greek debt may be relatively small, but a sufficient amount is held by a few major banks in Europe to cause disruptions to the...

With the failure of the Congressional "supercommittee," national attention is once more focused on the issue of ever-mounting federal budget deficits. This paper provides a primer on budget deficits, and surpluses from the creation of the federal government. From 1790 to 2010, government...