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Member (Idle past 91 days) Posts: 10333 From: London England Joined: |
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Author | Topic: The Debt Clock | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AZPaul3 Member Posts: 8546 From: Phoenix Joined: Member Rating: 5.0
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Are you serious? Or did I miss the /sarcasm tag somehow. No, it's just Phat. Sometimes reality is a little loose in the Phat world. Nothing dangerous. But entertaining.
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Dr Adequate Member (Idle past 309 days) Posts: 16113 Joined:
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Are you serious? I think it's about time we looked at unconventional fiscal strategies. Asking really nicely to be let off our debts is certainly one possible solution. Another is that the US could fake its own death and move to Mexico. Or we could persuade Congress not to budget more spending in a year than the government receives in tax revenue ... ha, no, just kidding. See you in Tijuana.
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
And, as you know I have answered that for you many times.
First, debts can get repaid in other than money. They can get paid in pain and suffering. If the US stopped paying it's debts then the currency will get devalued and the whole world would suffer. When Safeway goes to by those products they sell from other countries the suppliers would either simply refuse to sell to Safeway. Debt can also be transferred. When the individual refuses to pay his debts they do not simply disappear, rather they get passed on to others.Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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Jon Inactive Member |
You are missing the point.
Those debts still got repaidby you. The debt gets paid. Love your enemies!
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gene90 Member (Idle past 3848 days) Posts: 1610 Joined: |
Debt has legitimate uses. Why shouldn't the state use the money of foreign creditors to prop up its economy? That benefits your economy at the cost of everyone else. The problem is when it accumulates to the point it cannot be paid back. More specifically, as the state's debt load increases its credit worthiness declines. At some critical juncture--which is impossible to predict in advance--you get a sovereign debt crisis in which your creditors stop lending and your currency becomes worthless as you run the printing presses to inflate your way out. The reason that point can't be predicted is because it's an effect of herd behavior in markets. You can never know in advance just when investors will get spooked.
All the debt doesn't have to be paid back. It simply has to be kept manageable. If it grows at a rate below that of GDP + inflation, it's not a problem. There's been some talk of "balanced budget" amendments to the US Constitution. I'd really rather see the government begin to take a long term view on things and get the growth of deficits under control...because that makes it harder to use debt to prime the economy, but it's hard to imagine Congress getting their house in order.
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frako Member (Idle past 331 days) Posts: 2932 From: slovenija Joined: |
What are we to make of this? The strong implication seems to be debt always = bad. But if you look at the countries with the lowest debt they also seem to be those with the least developed industrial and economic infrastructure. Technically US debt dosent matter that much as long as the world energy production is mainly fossil fuel based, and oil is sold only in dollars. You can always print yourself out of your liquidity problems and not worry about a high inflation because your money gets spread around the world. Because people and countries have to "buy" your dollar so they can buy oil. Combined with the fact that you can spend your dollars almost anywhere while we haveto buy dollars first when we buy stuff from you. You can print mony and drop it out of helicopters in your cities and inflation would never become hyperinflation. The real problem is if anything mentioned above would change. Your population would soon be able to build money houses cheaper then building them with building materials.
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Phat Member Posts: 18332 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
AZPaul writes: Is that true? Does the system only work by managing debt? You young ones may be too young, but the rest of you should remember when Clinton did the budget surplus thing and the "peace dividend" was all the rage. One of the proposals to "spend" this windfall was to pay down the debt. Problem: the whole world's financial markets were apoplectic and shaking with fear. They were already feeling squeezed by the fact that the issuance of new bonds and notes had stopped since we didn't need to fund any more debt. The prospect of a shrinking US Treasuries market sent shocks through the whole financial world. People may think gold is the standard for asset protection, when in fact, for the major markets, funds, banks and governments the whole world over the capital preservation asset of choice is the US Government Treasury bond. Edited by Thugpreacha, : No reason given.
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Phat Member Posts: 18332 From: Denver,Colorado USA Joined: Member Rating: 1.0 |
I think you are right, Frako. Lets just hope that the world doesn't push the US into a corner and reject our dollars, or we ourselves may become the evil enemy with WMD's.
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Too funny.
And just what would the US do with the WMD's?Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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Straggler Member (Idle past 91 days) Posts: 10333 From: London England Joined: |
What options are there when it comes to doing things with WMDs?
Using them to kill people. Not using them to kill people (i.e. stockpiling them). Destroying/disposing of them. What other options are there?
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined:
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Not sure how any of those options would help the US economy.
Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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Straggler Member (Idle past 91 days) Posts: 10333 From: London England Joined: |
So - economically speaking - what should the US do with it's WMDs?
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
That way too far off topic for this thread.
Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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Straggler Member (Idle past 91 days) Posts: 10333 From: London England Joined: |
OK. But it was you that asked "Just what would the US do with the WMD's?"
I'm just pointing out that there isn't a great deal one can do with such things if killing people is taken off the table.
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jar Member (Idle past 419 days) Posts: 34026 From: Texas!! Joined: |
Why would killing folk be taken off the table?
My question was directed towards Phat's post Message 23. Did you even read that?Anyone so limited that they can only spell a word one way is severely handicapped!
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