Posted on 04/23/2016 9:18:03 AM PDT by expat_panama
Since this is an election year, you’re hearing a lot about the size of the national debt — and the financial imperative to expunge it before it gets passed on to our kids and grandkids.
Donald Trump ... ...suggested earlier that it would be possible to pay off the entire national debt in about eight years...
...the only way to advance the debate is to get past the myths...
#1) The federal government’s books are not like a family’s finances
...put yourself in the position of the government. Say you earn the typical American family income, and you spend and borrow as the government does... ...The Federal government does not have a literal ticking clock to race against.
#2) Even if government finances were like a family’s checkbook, things aren’t at a boiling point — yet.
At the very least, you probably want your elected representatives in Washington to spend within their means...
...What matters to families isn’t their total debt; it’s their ability to service those obligations.
Typically, families seeking a mortgage...
#3) American households aren’t just victims of the national debt — we’re benefiting from it too.
By most accounts, the U.S. debt stands at nearly $19 trillion. But in his Time article, Grant points out that some of this money is owed by the Treasury to other parts of the federal government...
#4) There are some unintended consequences to lowering the debt.
...the balance sheets of corporations and individuals have improved significantly... ...it’s preferable to have rising government debt and private-sector surpluses than the other way around... ...With fewer Treasury bonds floating around, it would be harder for investors ...
#5) Even if the debt isn’t at crisis levels, it is an important issue.
...“excess inflation” and a bond market in turmoil aren’t exactly minor concerns...
(Excerpt) Read more at time.com ...
Help me to understand your logic. I would see a 20% tariff on all imports as being totally destructive to the economy.
Tariffs boost the economy. Tariffs would cause domestic industry to be reenergized and overall economic activity would also go thru the roof. There would be some inflation especially early on before domestic sources come on line.
The dollar would be the premier currency again without question. The Feds could raise interest rates and savers could realize dividend again. Moreover offshoring and no import tariffs destroys industry and the opposite is also true. Can you imagine the economic stimulus of consumer electronics were again made in the USA? Just building the factories alone would be an economic miracle.
That last eight years had Fed and Treasury guys that embraced the Keynesian dogma, that government borrowing/spending drives the economy. They keep digging, in fact they say that much more should have been spent from 2007 onward.
The Austrian encampment sees government activity as a parasite sucking the life-force out of the economic engine. The adherents to Von Mises have been out in the cold looking on in horror.
The wave theory guys believe it’s economic fate for the world economy as it currently exists. The next wave should launch in the near future and restore growth, perhaps as early as 2017 per the optimist contingent.
The Fed, a private charter bank with a monopoly courtesy of the 1913 act, holds the debt. TBTF???
I see no evidence that tariffs boost the economy. In fact I can cite where that is not the case. Where can I find that tariffs actually boosted the economy?
Why would tariffs cause domestic industry to be reenergized? Again, I can see the opposite but not what was stated.
The whole last paragraph is wishful thinking and not supported by any fact I have seen relative to tariffs. Please inform us of how this is a fact and not wishful thinking.
I’m not trying to critize you I’m just trying to understand why you believe what you believe.
Of course, the minute a republican gets back into the White House, the national debt will suddenly become a problem again.
Unless the Republican wanted to cut spending and not raise tax rates on the “rich”. The debt’s only “unpatriotic” if it hurts the socialist agenda, and when it is then we can shut down the government and it’ll be the President’s fault like it was back w/ G H Bush.
The USA from 1789 to 1913 was income tax free and did very well. In fact it became an industrial power house in that time frame where tariffs funded the US Govt. More recent times China has become the worlds largest economy behind a high wall of protectionist tariffs.
Ask yourself this: does building and running factories create wealth? It sure does. Behind a 20% tariff companies would fall over backwards to build production in the USA.. Do you get that? It is a very simple concept.
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