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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>From: extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] On Behalf Of William Flynn Wallace<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Sent: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 4:53 PM<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>To: ExI chat list <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Subject: Re: [ExI] Repudiating the national debt<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>>>…I see default as coming eventually (15-ish yrs) but not by choice…This will be bad. We will not choose this path willingly. This path was chosen for us, by us, previously.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>>…And what are WE doing about it? Kicking the can down the road once again, as usual?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>I fear so sir.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>>…What SHOULD we be doing about it? Trim the military? bill w<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>That would be a good start: cut it waaaay back. Close bases. Retire some of our military might. That will hurt, but it will happen anyway. We can do it now by choice, or… probably end up selling a lot of those fireworks to the highest bidder.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Second step: create a new constitutional amendment that requires the Fed to balance its budget year to year, as states must do. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>This too has its consequences. The federal budget is then dependent on the previous year’s tax revenue. So… a Federal employee does not know how much she will make. It will make it difficult to borrow to the hilt if one does not know what payments one can make. It might be less than this year. This week’s paycheck might be less than last week.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>Before you read further, why does the previous comment sound so weird to us? Think about it. Understanding why that concept is so hard to imagine tells us a lot about us.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>This week’s paycheck might be more, but not a lot more: in surplus years, the overall salaries cannot rise more than say 4%. But they can fall 20% in one year, if the economy sucks. It will then take several years to return to the previous level. If they argue we cannot attract good people, I point out we are apparently failing to attract good people now. The prominent ones I see are not good people. Lois Lerner is not good people.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>If Federal government workers have a variable paycheck, would not they feel a little more sympathy for the businesswoman?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><span style='font-size:14.0pt'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>