Should the U.S. Declare Bankruptcy and Default on the National Debt?

[gevorg]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Japan

 

[Carmen813]

30 years from now the problems of today will be unimportant compared to the problems of the moment.

Is anyone here thinking about the problems of 30 years ago?

 

[Jadow]

Why? We borrowed in our own currency, we can always just print more to repay it. Inflation is better than a US default.

We should print a multi-trillion dollar bill, give is to the Chinese ambassador, make sure there's tons of footage / proof that we gave them the bill, heck have a ceromony at the white house.

Then later as he's driving away, OOPS TERRORISTS BLEW UP HIS CAR, thus burning the trillion dollar bill.

Via that method we can shift it all to China.

 

[nonlnear]

30 years from now the problems of today will be unimportant compared to the problems of the moment.

Is anyone here thinking about the problems of 30 years ago?

I am thinking about problems from 30, 60, 140, and 240 years ago - and some much older than that. The important ones rarely go away. The marquis problems of the moment are almost always transient species of timeless problems that simply reappear in ways that appear novel only to the unread masses.

About the only really new societal problem on the horizon is what to do about intellectual property rights and genetics. But that's one that's been brewing for a few decades, and will take a few decades more to truly come to a head. By the time some of the more critical decisions will be settled, it will itself be one of the "old" problems.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

Won't happen. The world economy would collapse, you'd see knife fights for bread. Like, really fucked up shit.

Yep. This is one of the reasons most serious powers don't want to fuck with the U.S. If this country goes down, the rest of the world suffers.

 

[zephyrprime]

I am thinking about problems from 30, 60, 140, and 240 years ago - and some much older than that. The important ones rarely go away. The marquis problems of the moment are almost always transient species of timeless problems that simply reappear in ways that appear novel only to the unread masses.

Within the context of the current economic problems, I agree with this statement. The problem we're having now is really the same sort of problem we had in the 1920's: debt saturation and a liquidity crisis caused by loan contraction. I'm surprised at how little people have learned from history.

 

[Genx87]

If did such a thing the great depression would look like a paradise.

 

[Casawi]

I don't mean to say that's stupid, but the idea isn't well thought through.. I am not an expert to comment, but I do know things are much more complex than declaring bankruptcy to get rid of debt.

 

[Jeffg010]

You guys are looking at this all wrong just go into china's online banking account and change the minus sign to a plus sign then the Chinese can use their mac card as much as they want. Who cares about printed money when you can just add a few 0000000000000000's on the computer.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

Obama will only do that through January 2017, unfortunately.

Try 2013.