Rubin Says Treasury Should Substantially Boost Maturity of Debt

  • Ex-Treasury chief says low yields can’t be taken for granted
  • Rubin calls for fiscal revamp in paper with Stiglitz, Orszag
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Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin cautioned against taking rock-bottom interest rates for granted and said the government should take advantage of the moment by substantially increasing the maturity of its debt, including possibly issuing ultra-long bonds.

In a paper for the Peterson Institute for International Economics released on Wednesday, Rubin and his co-authors suggested the change in the Treasury’s borrowing strategy as part of a broad-based revamp of fiscal policy.