Conventional wisdom says that the interest on government bonds is always less than corporate bonds. However, it's possible that we're entering a phase of history when such a convention could be reversed. Some corporations are becoming so powerful that the market might conclude they are more able to pay their debts than the US government.

Tax cutting advocate Grover Norquist has been quoted saying that he wants to reduce government to the size that it can be dragged off and drown in the bathtub. Efforts to privatize the Social Security safety net fits this patter. Norquist now has access to the White House, and conventional wisdom might no longer be conventional.