<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif">On Wed, Jul 20, 2016 spike </span><span dir="ltr" style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"><<a href="mailto:spike66@att.net" target="_blank">spike66@att.net</a>></span><span style="font-family:arial,sans-serif"> wrote:</span><br></div><div class="gmail_extra"><div class="gmail_quote"><div>  </div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"> <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​> ​</div>If there is a deficit, our debt to GDP<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​ </div>ratio is increasing.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div><font size="4"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​In 2009 the deficit was about 10% of GDP​, in 2015 it was about 3%. That's not a increase. </div> </font></div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​> ​</div>There is another factor here: we always assume growth. </blockquote><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">A pretty good long tern assumption if technological progress doesn't stop dead in its tracks. ​</div> </font></div><div> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​> ​</div>But that assumption<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​ </div>could fail,</blockquote><div><br></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​<font size="4">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.  </font> </div> </div><div><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);border-left-style:solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​> ​</div>We can and should balance the federal budget.<br></blockquote><div><br></div><div><font size="4"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;display:inline">​If so then Bill Clinton was the only one who got it right since 1835.​</div> </font></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="4">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:  ​</font></div></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/art-of-the-deal-ghostwriter-speaks-out-729014339840">http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/art-of-the-deal-ghostwriter-speaks-out-729014339840</a><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all">http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/07/25/donald-trumps-ghostwriter-tells-all</a><br></div><div><br></div><div><span style="font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif"><font size="4">​ John K Clark​</font></span><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div></div>