To solve a crisis of overleverage, the US government is piling on the debt. Oh, the irony. It is too early to know the exact hit to the public finances because that depends on the timing of the various bail-outs, the matching of bond issuance with the acquisition of assets, additional fiscal packages and, of course, the outlook for the economy. Needless to say, however, last year's deficit of $455bn will be blown out of the water.

Plunging further into the red may cause interest rate or currency wobbles down the line. But, if any country is good for it, it is the US. Authorities have tax-raising powers, and, as sociologist Max Weber put it, a monopoly on the means of violence within its borders. Also, if push came to shove, the rich bits of Canada are there for the taking. There is, however, another way to help raise money: selling assets.