RE: Can Trump Salvage The Sinking US Ship?
Its not really fair to lay the debt increase at Obama's door. At 87% over 8 years he has one of the lower per year increases in modern times (percentage wise). Bush II had over 100% over 8 years. Clinton was super low (i think the best in modern times). Bush 1 was something like 35% in 4 years (which would have translated to around 82 percent in 8 years). Reagan was almost 200% in 8 years. Carter was around 30% in 4 years (8 year equivalent of about 70).. the 8 years before carter (some combination of ford and nixon) were a hair under 100%.
Trump comes from the business world, so he understands there is nothing wrong with carrying debt. ANd honestly i think you have to go all the way back to ike to find a GOP president with a good record on debt reduction. Even you admit:
The only reason the United States is able to sustain such a massive gap and debt is because the dollar is a world reserve currency and as such, has the ability through the Federal reserve, to print infinite amounts of money.
So if it aint broken don't fix it. Contrary to what the melodramatic pearl-clutchers on fox news will tell you, theres no real problem. The US can pay its debts.
If i had to guess, id say trump is going to be a reagan rerun as far as spending goes and taxes go, i really wouldnt be surprised to see the US flirting with 30T by the time trump comes up for re-election.
If you dig deeper into debt-based currencies you'll find they are literally impossible to pay off. We don't just owe other contries and bond-holders debt, but also to the private federal reserve. At the most simple example starting with no money in circulation, if I create $100 out of thin air and loan it to you at 10% interest - there's still only $100 in circulation, how could you pay me back $110?
Aside from your use of the term "debt based currencies" which is a meaningless tautology, I understand this completely. Im not saying "dont worry, before long well have this debt paid off". Im saying "don't worry, there is nothing wrong with carrying a lot of debt, so long as that debt isnt expanding very much faster than GDP"
A big part of your problem is that youre assuming a dollar is the same as a dollar bill. Its not. A dollar, like a bitcoin, is an entry in an electronic ledger.
The answer to your question is that you're starting from a false premise. If you loan me $100 at 10% interest, you haven't created $100 out of thin air. You've created $110 out of thin air. Currnecy is debt. his ledger shows a $110 recievable asset. yours shows a 110 debt. The universe works.
Here's the tricky part -- unless he can take that $100 and use it to make something worth 110 or more, youre little two person economic system is fucked.
Interesting explanation, I was just commenting on your one statement that the US can pay its debt is all - I still don't know how that's true, especially if interest payments are as large or larger than the income.
I expressed that poorly. What i should have said is "the us can make payments on its debt obligations according to terms". Which is to say, we're able to make our payments on time. I wasn't thinking we could actually pay the debt off. Its kind of the same difference as me saying "I can pay my mortgage" versus "i can pay my mortgage off".. i only meant to imply the first.
Ah OK, I misunderstood. BTW, not to get off topic, so far in my short time here I've had a few good discussions, this being one of them, and am very glad I signed up and started browsing. Nice to have a discussion and even be corrected in an intelligent and articulate manner. I've been so used to responses to what started out as a mere discussion on a political or economic topic that end with plain disregard for any semblance of discourse for so long on pretty much every other platform - nice change to find some intellectually honest people.
didn't Clinton change some accounting rules to remove some of the deficit? I can't remember but he was very adept in the political sleight of hand that confuses us all.
Yep, he moved all that money from the SS fund and left it piled high with IOU's...That's how he 'balanced' his budgets...
oh yeah that was that lockbox nonsense... i forgot about that one.