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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif'> extropy-chat [mailto:extropy-chat-bounces@lists.extropy.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>John Clark<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, July 17, 2016 5:34 PM<br><b>To:</b> ExI chat list <extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org><br><b>Subject:</b> Re: [ExI] I Miss The King of Extropia<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>On Sun, Jul 17, 2016 at 4:13 PM, spike <<a href="mailto:spike66@att.net" target="_blank">spike66@att.net</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>> >…</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>John, US presidents do not control T-bills. </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>>…Yes they do. Unless the congress periodically passes a law to raise the farcical "debt ceiling" and the president signs it, that is to say unless they agree to pay for the stuff they <b>ALREADY AGREED TO BUY</b> the T bills will go into default…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>On the contrary. If congress or a president refuses to increase the debt ceiling, the government is still taking in money and can still operate. It has a number of options, such as immediately cutting the pay of government employees, cutting pensions and so forth. Even with a forced balanced budget, it could still service the T-bills. It couldn’t do all the stuff it is doing now however. Much or most of that would need to be handed back to the states where it belongs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>>…Let me repeat that, the largest and universally regarded as the safest investment on planet Earth would go belly up!...<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>So an investment you previously claimed hangs on the balance of one person’s signature is the safest investment on planet Earth? Indeed? What happens when we eventually elect a president who demands a balanced budget?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>>…And that almost happened, on October 16 2013 T-bills came within 45 minutes of defaulting. That was the day I stopped being a Republican and that is why I think Ted Cruz may be the only person who would be a worse president than Donald Trump…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>So this is the safest investment on planet Earth? Should not we be reminding investors everywhere that their investments came within 45 minutes of default?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>We recognize that not all debt is bad.<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>Runaway debt is very bad. <o:p></o:p></span></p></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>Runaway?<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>In fiscal year 2009<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>the deficit was 9.8<o:p></o:p></span></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>%</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> of GDP, in 2015 it was 2</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>.</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>5</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>%. That doesn't sound like the end of the world to me…<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>Debt accumulates. US debt has doubled in the past 8 years. That’s irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>>…The sign that government debt was getting too large would increasing inflation and skyrocketing interest rates, but today the inflation rate is the lowest in my lifetime and interest rates are the lowest in the history of the country. It sound to me like debt is too low not too high…<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>If only they would realize the debt capacity is infinite. Then we wouldn’t need to pay taxes at all. We wouldn’t need to work either: we could all live on pensions supplied by borrowed money forever.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>>>… </span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>The US has become so addicted to borrowing and spending, we are openly proclaiming we cannot balance the budget without it,</span><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></blockquote><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>So what? As I said, except the for Clinton years the budget hasn't been balanced since 1835 and we don't seem to have reached the point on no return yet. John K Clark<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>Everything is going fine so far, shouted the falling man as he passed the fourth floor.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'>spike<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Calibri Light",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div><blockquote style='border:none;border-left:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:0in 0in 0in 6.0pt;margin-left:4.8pt;margin-right:0in'><div><div><div><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span style='font-size:16.0pt'> </span><o:p></o:p></p></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></div></div></body></html>