National Debt

[Gadianton]

At the end of the day, you're betting on a country's solvency. There is no metric that is going tell you when the debt is too high. I think there is an analogy to a stock. A stock can trade at multiples of its earnings for decades on end and people still buy it while leaving much more attractive stocks in terms of Pr / Pb ratios in the gutter to rot. unlike a stock, the bet isn't to go to the moon, but to still exist and make good on payout by the end of the term. One way of looking at the "too low" proposition, is to think about a firm that has a great reputation and trading at earnings multiples, and why should they not take advantage of secondary offerings? As long as the USA is the dominant world power, why not take the money that's available to, among other things, stay the dominant power? I do worry about taking advantage of a good thing, but as Keynes himself said, in the long run, we're all dead anyway.

There is a short-term check in terms of inflation. With inflation under control, I can't think metric that says when debt or deficit/GDP is too high.

[ajax18]

An alternative model is to not count chickens before they hatch and first collect the requisite tax money and then build out the new infrastructure. Until then, new residents can let their garbage pile up for a few years and crap in their back yards.

Or we could limit our population growth rate to what we can afford to provide so that there is enough plumbing and toilets to go around. But that would mean that the US would have a right to put a limit on immigration and the importation of poverty that we don't currently have the capital to provide for without going into even more debt. Since this is considered immoral, the only other option is to sock the taxpayer with ever increasing interest payments on a $36 trillion debt that the country has no intention of ever paying off.

[Vēritās]

I'm not convinced national debt even matters anymore. Not when you're a country that produces its own currency.

Since the late 70's we've been hearing about how the debt was going to crash the dollar and destroy the economy. When it hit $1 trillion under Reagan for the first time, this was all the rage in political circles. When it literally quadrupled to $3.5 trillion through 12 years of Reagan/Bush, the same warnings were given about impending economic implosion. When W Bush doubled the debt and drove it past $10 trillion, we didn't hear anything about it from the Republicans until they found a black guy they could blame. Then suddenly we had idiots like Glen Beck on FOX Noise warning about eminent "HYPERINFLATION". Of course, despite the skyrocketing debt, we got deflation. Literally everything these Republicans idiots pontificate about, ends up being dead wrong, and no matter how many times history proves them wrong, they keep repeating the same doomsday predictions. But only when a Democrat is in office. When one of their own is at the wheel, the debt is a non-issue.

But right now we're talking about debt around $30 trillion thanks mostly to Trump, and the only criticism from the Right is in the context of trying to blame Biden. It is the same old song and dance we've seen for decades, and it works when talking to uneducated morons.

[Gadianton]

Or we could limit our population growth rate to what we can afford to provide so that there is enough plumbing and toilets to go around. But that would mean that the US would have a right to put a limit on immigration and the importation of poverty that we don't currently have the capital to provide for without going into even more debt. Since this is considered immoral, the only other option is to sock the taxpayer with ever increasing interest payments on a $36 trillion debt that the country has no intention of ever paying off.

Question one: How much of the national debt was incurred by welfare benefits to illegals?

Question two: How much would hardline immigration policies reduce the national deficit?

Maybe you should ponder the scriptures and take the matter unto prayer before the Lord?

I'm going to report your post as off topic since as it stands, it has nothing to do with the national debt.

[ajax18]

I wonder how many of these mill guys who are on disability are ardent Trump supporters.

I don't know but if I had it my way, Scotty Birdsall would be going back to work doing something.

[Morley]

I wonder how many of these mill guys who are on disability are ardent Trump supporters.

I don't know but if I had it my way, Scotty Birdsall would be going back to work doing something.

You do have your way. Go find Mr Birdsall a job. Or hire him to work for you.

[Gadianton]

Ajax would never hire a MAGA republican to work for him. He's not that stupid.