Last Week Tonight covers National Debt

Ken g6

Programming Moderator, Elite Member
Moderator
Dec 11, 1999
16,343
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It's really pretty simple. A government can go into debt up to its perceived value before inflation starts happening. Because the US dollar is the "gold standard" of currencies (even though it's not on the actual gold standard anymore), everybody will ignore that it's not worth the paper it's printed on longer than they will for other countries' currencies. ;)

That said, debt for certain purposes makes sense. But it seems like we ought to fix some of our old debt errors before incurring new debt. Like, maybe we could tax the rich or something.
 

woolfe9998

Lifer
Apr 8, 2013
16,189
14,114
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LOL@ the repugs suddenly pretending to care about the national debt again.

Shut up. Just STFU. No one cares what you say anymore.

Edit: Watch the vid around 12:30 where Ted Cruz admits in an interview that now that Biden is POTUS, the GOP will suddenly recommit itself to austerity.
 
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Moonbeam

Elite Member
Nov 24, 1999
73,231
6,338
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Your Monday morning entertainment
You had no comment to address so here's mine:

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree
And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.


Be very afraid and never see that everything you fear has already happened.
 
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UNCjigga

Lifer
Dec 12, 2000
24,929
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The only thing that’s shameful about the national debt is that somehow we’ve let it get that high without any modern infrastructure or fully functional safety net to show for it. We have the military industrial complex/endless war and tax policy favoring the wealthy to thank for that.
 

dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
36,088
30,442
136
LOL@ the repugs suddenly pretending to care about the national debt again.

Shut up. Just STFU. No one cares what you say anymore.

Edit: Watch the vid around 12:30 where Ted Cruz admits in an interview that now that Biden is POTUS, the GOP will suddenly recommit itself to austerity.
Repeat after me: "Conservative political opinions are worthless."
That applies to their "thoughts" on any other political topic as much as it does to the national debt.
 
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nickqt

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2015
7,681
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The "national debt" is a big bad boogieman that's going to get you. It's why we have to give rich people all of the money and can't have nice things.

Sure, most of the debt that the US Government owes is "owed" to the US Government and US Citizens using it as an investment device, but man oh man is that big number scary enough to make me look the other way as our country rots from the inside-out.

Hyperinflation is right around the corner! It has to be true, because it's been right around the corner for the past 50 years!
 

zzyzxroad

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2017
3,255
2,272
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The "national debt" is a big bad boogieman that's going to get you. It's why we have to give rich people all of the money and can't have nice things.

Sure, most of the debt that the US Government owes is "owed" to the US Government and US Citizens using it as an investment device, but man oh man is that big number scary enough to make me look the other way as our country rots from the inside-out.

Hyperinflation is right around the corner! It has to be true, because it's been right around the corner for the past 50 years!
I wonder, if debt to GDP ratio is linked to inflation what is going on with Japan? Their ratio is over 2X that of The US the The US isn't insanely higher then France, Spain or the UK.

 

nickqt

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2015
7,681
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I wonder, if debt to GDP ratio is linked to inflation what is going on with Japan? Their ratio is over 2X that of The US the The US isn't insanely higher then France, Spain or the UK.

If you are a sovereign fiat producing country that didn't just lose a World War, has full trading relations with the rest of the world, and a "stable" internal market, then hyperinflation is a scare tactic oligarchs use to ensure that they don't lose any of their wealth/power imbalance by letting the poors touch too much money or "socialist" benefits. And those scare tactics are useful with dumb-as-rock conservatives, and relatively sane centrists who tend to vote for the center-right to center-left Democratic party.

Oh, oh, big debt number scary! My dog's cousin's owner can't borrow $2 trillion dollars, why would the United States government, with a market of 300 million people and thousands of nuclear missiles work any different than my dog's cousin's owner?!?

Not to mention that the sheer amount of personal debt means that even when the US government dumps a few trillion dollars onto an economy of 300 million people, most of it goes to paying down debt and purchasing needed goods and services. Real estate has been and will continue to go up in price since they aren't making a whole lot more of it anymore, but milk and eggs and washing machines aren't increasing in costs outside of "natural" inflation.

Sure, the US government shouldn't give every single American $10,000,000, as that would definitely cause inflation. But you can look at any chart showing the flat income growth over the past 40 years to realize that giving Americans a whole $3,000 over the course of a year isn't going to do a god damn thing to "inflation". If you're poor enough to get the full stimulus, then you need the god damn money. If you got partial stimulus, you probably used it to pay your tax bill. And if you didn't get any stimulus, congrats, you're solidly upper-working class.

As has been said, the only sad thing about the current "national debt" is that we as Americans have an infrastructure that is on average 50+ years old and getting older, but our military is state-of-the-art because it's been used as a big stick to open markets for the corporations who own and operate the government so they can exploit foreign natural resources and labor for massive private profits.

Or...hyperinflation is right around the corner even though there's no sign of it or a real reason besides "theory" for prices to skyrocket because of a number in an accounting column.
 

Juiblex

Banned
Sep 26, 2016
500
253
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R's, once again, have no legs left to stand on. Under Bush and Trump the deficit and debt exploded. They can take a hike.
That's right because no matter what R or D we stick to a name, it's the same people behind the curtain.
 

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ch33zw1z

Lifer
Nov 4, 2004
38,156
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That's right because no matter what R or D we stick to a name, it's the same people behind the curtain.

Tax and spend, borrow and spend, you have a choice. The last admin literally appointed capitalist cronies all the way down.

Someone didn't watch the video.
 
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dank69

Lifer
Oct 6, 2009
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That's right because no matter what R or D we stick to a name, it's the same people behind the curtain.
What are you implying here? That Jews are inherently corrupt? Got some other explanation that makes any sense?
 
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