Conversation
Notices
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"we must take out debt to relieve the debt or the debt will become overwhelming for us!"
Paying off one credit card with another on a global scale
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@sj_zero @aljazeera Sincere question here- what course of action do you think would make sense rather than increasing debt?
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@BowsacNoodle @sj_zero @aljazeera I think it's the paying off debt with debt thing that's being mocked here.
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@BowsacNoodle @sj_zero @aljazeera I think limiting the scope of government authority and forcing them to budget with money that exists instead of raising the debt ceiling every time they want a new toy would be a good start.
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@thatguyoverthere @sj_zero @aljazeera I think so, but that's usually what happens. Bonds of various types are issued. More bonds are issued near maturity to pay those off and extra for expenditures. The theory is your economy can grow enough to take in increased tax revenue and, after inflation, you end up at par or better. In reality, this is often not the case. I'm curious what the alternative is, because austerity measures tend to functionally become punishments towards middle and working class (although I'm sure more reasonable austerity is possible).
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@BowsacNoodle @sj_zero @aljazeera The problem is there are no consequences for the people expanding the budget, and lots of incentive to do it (my constituents want this). They can give themselves and their staff pay raises while everyone else is losing their jobs and finding it harder to pay for the things they need. Most of the voters don't realize how the budget actually works. Most I thiink actually believe their tax dollars are contributing to society when we create social programs. In reality the money we pay to taxes is a drop in the bucket compared to the rate of spending and interest due on existing debts.
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@thatguyoverthere @sj_zero @aljazeera I agree with this. I do think structured and prudent government spending makes sense, but things have obviously gotten out of hand.