[ExI] antiscience from both sides

[William Flynn Wallace]

Money and me just don't click.  I have a mortgage and no other debt.  If
you owe it, pay it, is my theory.  But for the country?  It won't happen in
anybody's lifetime.  They won't cut welfare, SS, Medicare and Medicaid
because it's political suicide and if it's anything those in Congress like,
it's staying in Congress.  In the future, what?  If conditions get so
drastic here, then Americans will move elsewhere - duh.  To the new place
that's not bankrupt yet.

What would happen if we just said:  we have no debt - go fish?  Then we run
gov. on what it takes in because no one will loan us money.  Of course,
that is probably crazy thinking because I don't know economics.

bill w

On Tue, May 5, 2020 at 1:36 PM spike jones via extropy-chat <
extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org> wrote:

>
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> > *On Behalf Of *Darin Sunley via extropy-chat
> *Subject:* Re: [ExI] antiscience from both sides
>
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> >…There's an argument for government debt analogous to the Doomsday
> Argument.
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> >…Government debt is essentially borrowing against future real
> productivity …
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> >…Either way, borrowing against the future is cool, and we will never have
> to stop doing that, or pay it back…  Darin
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> Sure, but what about those left holding the bag?  We will never have to
> pay it back, because that will be after we are gone, but some live on, ja?
> What about them?  What about the younger set here, those under 50?  Are you
> cool with being the ones left holding the bag?  Really?  Why?
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> And what about if that whole notion of borrowing grows ever more popular
> and necessary, then suddenly… there are no more lenders?  Suppose the
> previous lenders suddenly cannot lend anymore because they are also in
> financial distress.  Perhaps the same black swan event occurred to the
> lenders.  Then they cannot lend, and they need to call in debts already
> incurred.  They now depend on the productivity of the US, but not future
> productivity: they need right now productivity, and they need it
> desperately.
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> In that scenario, there is no more borrowing, for lenders everywhere are
> in a similar situation.  Whoever is running the White House in that
> scenario is nearly irrelevant, for all they do there is struggle to manage
> debt.
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> Is that scenario really so hard to envision?
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> Darin, in light of that, what else is really of any significance?
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> spike
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