Thread: Understanding the National Debt and Budget Deficit

He clearly hates America. He must be a covert Muslim agent.

no doubt

I think discussing the National Debt and its consequences is now worth discussing.

Who has done what, done the most, or what party did the most is not really the point now.

The point is: what will happen and when will it happen.

And you can add "if," if you want to do to.

Here are some articles worthy of a read or browse:

Triffin's Dilemma: How Dangerous Is U.S. Government Debt? - Council on Foreign Relations

Some basic ramifications summed up and easy to read: How the National Debt Affects You - US News and World Report

More details and definitions and links to other concepts related to the National Debt at about.com: US Debt Definition and How It Affects the Economy

"Old Hickory" Andrew Jackson and a comparison of 'then to now.' https://wealthcycles.com/features/el...onger-possible

I cannot edit so I'll add this article here.

This article is short and very informative. Well worth the quick read:

Washington's $5 Trillion dollar interest bill: National debt: Washington's $5 trillion interest bill - Mar. 5, 2012

the problem I have with many of those articles is that they all address the debt as if ALL if it is bad and that there is no good debt as if it's all money wasted, which couldn't be further from the truth. deficit spending on infrastructure, education, R&D, etc. is good debt but it is public debt, no monies from capital accounts are spent on public projects.

there is no debt free english speaking western country in the world (not even Monaco is debt free) and if there was it wouldn't be the US due to the level of inequality and increasing trends the past couple of decades. not only do fiat currency's require a certain amount of debt, increasing levels really only need to increase at a rate less than that of real economic growth which is not happening right now in the US. while most of the deficit is from supply-side tax cuts and wars actual carry over debt from budget deficits for say social protections can never be reduced to zero as never in world history has any country come close to a labor force participation rate of 100% with the US highest being close to 70% during the past decades of massive debt increases both public and private and the hollowing out of the real US economy.

nor do they address the fact that deficit decreasing or even balancing the budget has absolutely no effect on the types of jobs being creates or on the real wages paid associated with those jobs.

there are many, many problems with the US economy and no easy fast quick fixes...

Originally Posted by LAM

the problem I have with many of those articles is that they all address the debt as if ALL if it is bad and that there is no good debt as if it's all money wasted, which couldn't be further from the truth. deficit spending on infrastructure, education, R&D, etc. is good debt but it is public debt, no monies from capital accounts are spent on public projects.

there is no debt free english speaking western country in the world (not even Monaco is debt free) and if there was it wouldn't be the US due to the level of inequality and increasing trends the past couple of decades. not only do fiat currency's require a certain amount of debt, increasing levels really only need to increase at a rate less than that of real economic growth which is not happening right now in the US.

The national debt is 100+% of GDP.

Not all debt is bad debt. Sure, there is good debt, but I think the point of those articles is how much debt there is - and it's growing.

Honestly, most people have no grasp of even basic economics. That is why most of the public remains completely apathetic toward economic issues. They truly have so little understanding. Almost everyone believes that economics is MONEY and only money. Possessing at least a basic understanding of economics should be a prerequisite for even discussing the economy. Here is a link to a book by Thomas Sowell. Yes, Sowell is an economist. He is a best-selling author. He is also black and a conservative so many dismiss him out of hand as an "anomaly." This book is an excellent read. It can be read in full through the link I provided. It should give most a basic understanding in its 310 pages. For those who think they've got a handle on economics, I highly recommend reading it. You will most likely come away enlightened.


BASIC ECONOMICS



A Citizen's Guide to the Economy

REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION
THOMAS SOWELL



Basic Economics- A Citizens Guide to the Economy - Sowell Thomas

The main problem is too many people vote for the same representatives time and again, based solely on name recognition. Or for the more simpleminded, party affiliation. If you or I did such a piss poor job we'd have been fired long ago, but the same clowns get elected over and over. We reward their poor performance with keeping them on the job.

Originally Posted by Zaphod

The main problem is too many people vote for the same representatives time and again, based solely on name recognition. Or for the more simpleminded, party affiliation. If you or I did such a piss poor job we'd have been fired long ago, but the same clowns get elected over and over. We reward their poor performance with keeping them on the job.

name recognition is a big part of marketing strategies and in terms of US politics you need big money to get your name out there. a MAJOR negative side effect of allowing the invisible hand of capital in the the US democratic process.

ask Greece about spending and debt.

Originally Posted by Swiper

ask Greece about spending and debt.

Apples and Oranges.

Originally Posted by hoyle21

Apples and Oranges.

black and white.

Originally Posted by Swiper

ask Greece about spending and debt.

you don't even know why Greece got into trouble.

the country has a history corruption and TAX AVOIDANCE nor did they have their financial sector properly designed to generate enough revenues when they adopted the EURO. when they did they went on a spending bindge with no viable means of paying the money back and then they got hit with the effects of the 2008 recession which made their pre-existing problem worst.

Originally Posted by LAM

you don't even know why Greece got into trouble.

the country has a history corruption and TAX AVOIDANCE nor did they have their financial sector properly designed to generate enough revenues when they adopted the EURO. when they did they went on a spending bindge with no viable means of paying the money back and then they got hit with the effects of the 2008 recession which made their pre-existing problem worst.

sounds like us. except we'll just keep printing money and totally destroy the poor and middle class with a weak dollar, as if we haven't already.