[ExI] Summer weather and COVID-19

[spike at rainier66.com]

From: extropy-chat <extropy-chat-bounces at lists.extropy.org> On Behalf Of John Clark via extropy-chat



 

>…Yeah yeah because otherwise deficit spending will destroy the economy, the same song and dance I've been hearing all my life and all my father's life too, and it's starting to get a little old…

 > If runaway deficits will never hurt us, have you ever figured out why we are paying taxes at all? 

 

>…Spike, do you honestly believe that is a valid argument for having zero debt? …  John K Clark

 

 

 

John my wish is far more modest: zero deficit.  We know we ran up this huge debt and we will need to service it indefinitely, but if we have a system whereby we borrow nothing, that would work.  We point out the obvious to those who would loan the Fed money: this is a risky investment and getting more so.  You might never get your money back.  A catastrophe could wipe out the government’s ability to pay this.  

 

Counterproposal: government workers have a base salary.  If the fed takes in less money than necessary to pay everyone, then the salaries are reduced by that fraction.  This year they would be short a lot of money of course.  But most years they would be OK, sometimes getting their full salary.  Currently the US gov is borrowing money in order to give it away.  If we run a surplus, pay out foreign aid from that surplus.

 

In that way, we would end government borrowing by choice rather than having that choice forced on us.

 

spike

 

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