Quote Originally Posted by Lyle View Post
Quote Originally Posted by Kirkland Laing View Post
European governments raise enough taxes to match spending. Since Reagan (apart from Clinton) US governments have slashed taxes for the wealthiest <1%, creating stratospheric deficits and exponential growth of the national debt. The true measure of US fiscal nutjobbery can be seen in the tax policies and results under the current administration.
Let's not get on the whole deal about taxes again...supply side economics works. Spending SHOULD be cut and that's obvious but taxes don't need to go up.

Our debt is our leverage with China...we're like a high roller in Vegas and they are the House they COULD break our legs but that won't get them their money any faster if at all AND if we welch on our debt the WORLD economy goes down the shitter....so the way I see it America holds the cards debt or no debt

Did you ever ask yourself....why would a country with a deficit (especially as big as the US deficit) benefit from a weak dollar?

The thing is a dollar is a dollar it doesn't matter how much it is actually worth if you owe someone a dollar and the dollar is worth 1/2 of the Euro or worth 1/80th of the Euro you still owe them only $1.

Devaluation of money is how Germany paid it's WWI debts....the US could, I am not saying it will but it COULD pay off a ton of debt very cheaply right now.
There is no evidence that supply side economics works. Not a single member of Bush's council of economic advisors would endorse his tax cuts as no credible economist believes supply side economics is anything but snake oil. BTW, Bush's council of economic advisors is currently down to one economic advisor, the rest having resigned and nobody credible willing to take their places. Tells you all you need to know about supply side policies right there.

The US can't get out of its debt by inflating the dollar because it needs to sell a trillion dollars of new treasuries every year to finance its ongoing deficits. If the Fed devalues the dollar then foreign creditors will ask for higher and higher rates of interest to cover the capital losses of a depreciating dollar and if they don't get them they'll invest in the Euro leaving America screwed or having to deal with double digit interest rates. You'd also have to deal with huge increases in import prices, making a trip to Wal Mart cost like a trip to Nordstrom. Either way the economy gets fucked.