The yield on 10-year Italian government bonds rose above 7%, the level at which other European countries — including Greece, Portugal and Ireland — have sought international bailouts.
The bond yields — which represent the level of risk of lending Italy money — surged as high as 7.48%, marking its highest since the euro was launched in 1999.
Ireland’s actually rose above 8%, while Portugal’s breached 9%. And yields for Greek bonds touched the 10% mark.
Obviously the U.S. has a similar problem as the PIIGS. The best way to understand this problem and the fix for this problem is to look at what major U.S corporations have already done. The defined benefit plan aka pension plan is a relic of the past at most major corporations. It’s either frozen, radically toned down, or left to only a privileged few. In its place most companies have adopted a defined contribution plan, aka 401k plan. The difference between the two is profound.
The problem we have today is that European countries and just about every municipality, state and federal employee in this country is still covered by an unworkable set of financial guarantees that almost all major American corporations have already abandoned. It’s just a matter of time before we as a country do the same.