Better not tell the Chinese that U.S. treasury bonds are just an accounting fiction.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSPEK14475620090601
"Chinese assets are very safe," Geithner said in response to a question after a speech at Peking University, where he studied Chinese as a student in the 1980s.
His answer drew loud laughter from his student audience, reflecting skepticism in China about the wisdom of a developing country accumulating a vast stockpile of foreign reserves instead of spending the money to raise living standards at home.
Economically, China is playing Chess, the US is playing Checkers. China is more than willing to sacrifice one or two generations of people to gain global dominance. The people controlling the US economy think in periods of 4 or 10 years.
even more obscene than this fiction is how the Federal Reserve prints money, lends it to the banks, who then lend it to the Treasury and collect 3% for doing so. Its such an obvious subsidy of that whole sector, without which would look much worse.
The point is US T-bills are considered one of the safest investments in the world but when people start talking about SS for some reason they pretend that they are worthless.
The dollar may not enter a hyperinflationary death spiral as some believe it will, but its days as the default world reserve currency appear to be fading fast.