[ExI] I Miss The King of Extropia

[John Clark]

On Wed, Jul 20, 2016 spike <spike66 at att.net> wrote:


> ​> ​
> If there is a deficit, our debt to GDP
> ​
> ratio is increasing.
>

​In 2009 the deficit was about 10% of GDP​, in 2015 it was about 3%. That's
not a increase.


​> ​
> There is another factor here: we always assume growth.


A pretty good long tern assumption if technological progress doesn't stop
dead in its tracks. ​



> ​> ​
> But that assumption
> ​
> could fail,


​Yes that's possible. If inflation and interest rates got very high growth
would slow, and that would happen if the ​deficit was too high. But both
interest rates and inflation are at incredible historic lows, so it sure
doesn't seen like the deficit is a important economic problem right now. A
more powerful argument could be made that the deficit is too low not too
high.


​> ​
> We can and should balance the federal budget.
>

​If so then Bill Clinton was the only one who got it right since 1835.​



On a different topic, there is a very very interesting video about the
author of "The Art Of The deal" and also a good article. And no I'm not
talking about Donald Trump:  ​

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/art-of-the-deal-ghostwriter-speaks-out-729014339840


http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all

​ John K Clark​
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