"jono9999" <jono9999@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:aa9b03dd.0406110059.16e57a18@posting.google.com...
> "necoandjeff" <spam@schrepfer.com> wrote in message
news:<xs7yc.83247$Lr7.41835@newssvr25.news.prodigy.com>...
> > <mtfester@netMAPSONscape.net> wrote in message
> > news:caauhk$n8a$1@news.Stanford.EDU...
> > > necoandjeff <spam@schrepfer.com> wrote:
> > > > <mtfester@netMAPSONscape.net> wrote in message
> >
> > > >> > You may owe debts to us but we owe ours to the Japanese (and
others)
> >  who
> > > >> > have been financing our debt using all the dollars they've racked
up
> >  from
> > > >> > their trade surpluses.
> > > >>
> > > >> Nice shell game, then, as their debt is greater than ours, as a
%age
> > > >> of GDP...
> >
> > > > But their individual savings rate is much larger than ours in the
U.S.
> >  so
> > >
> > > So, the savings accounts of individual Japanese (with the highest %age
> > > of +70 year-olds in the world) is going to somehow magically pay off
> > > the Japanese government's debt????
> >
> > Where do you think they're keeping their money, under the mattress?
>
> Er... actually... yes.
>
> Things are changing slowly, but in most of Japan, having money under
> the mattress is the only way to ensure 24 hour access to it.  Many
> ATMs close at night, and nearly all are closed during holiday periods.

Yes I know all about Japanese ATMs. But we're not talking about just having
access to some cash here. We're talking about millions or tens of millions
of yen in life savings. Japanese do not typically keep that as cash sitting
at home.

Jeff