Some very smart forecasters, such as Forbes columnist A. Gary Shilling and newsletter writer John Mauldin, think the U.S. is in a balance-sheet recession.

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For instance, in the U.S., non-financial corporate cash on balance sheet is at a 50-year high at nearly 6%, according to Credit Suisse.

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The U.S. government balance sheet will become even more debt-laden.

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The Treasury Department is so concerned it got the three biggest U.S. banks to organize a fund to bail out these off-balance sheet holdings.

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The amount is an all-time high as the Federal Reserve continues to expand its balance sheet, partially to purchase U.S. government debt securities.

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