How is the national debt bad for the U.S??

[killer2021]

Originally Posted by sterlinggirl

Why would the government pay interest to borrow dollars that it can just print?

The government doesn't print the money. In 1913 we gave all power to control the money supply to a private corporation, the federal reserve. When we go in debt, we borrow money from the federal reserve at interest. The only thing that government does is make it law that you have to use that private bank's money. Most people think that the government owns the federal reserve system - we do not.


Right now, all your income taxes go to pay the interest on the debt. The rest of the government is financed through borrowing from the federal reserve. As we borrow more money this increases the money supply and hence we get inflation which devalues your dollar. That is why food, gasoline and everything else goes up 10%+ per annum. The best way to protect yourself is through the use of tax sheltered accounts like a roth ira and to buy gold or silver. It is no mistake that precious metals and agriculture have been some of the best investments of this decade!

This is why many people predict that the USD will fall into hyperinflation eventually. When that happens the government will just clear their books of all their liabilities - medicare, pensions, social security, you name it. Why do you think politicians aren't doing crap to fix the system?

Watch this video to understand more:

G Edward Griffin - Creature From Jekyll Island A Second Look at the Federal Reserve

Federal Reserve System - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[mackinac81]

Debt is a tool, used right it is constructive

How so?

[Philip T]

Originally Posted by sterlinggirl

It only promises to pay dollars. There isn't a promise to give them anything of value.

So fire up the presses and give them dollars. I'd rather have a one time hit with some major inflation to clear out the excess than a lifetime of 50% taxes for our next generation. Since everything is pretty well shot to hell in the economy anyway, this would be one of the better times to do it.

Yep, All been done, before (and before, and before).

You are anticipating and leading ahead of the folks you are trying to track.

Money will stay "cheap" (low interest) with limited availability to the top end only (e.g. while interest rates are still low, presently far fewer working folks can get home loans). This will continue past the elections.

Inflation will continue to degrade the value of both debts and savings.

Some time after the New Year interest rates will start to rise in the name of stopping inflation.

A quote that is often attributed to Jefferson --

If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issuance of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

And so our fate is to be homeless in our homeland.

While quoting old-timers, there is some Sioux Indian quote about the White Man's (essentially the banks and corporations) money being poison. I guess folks who have become homeless in their homeland before would understand this topic all too well.

Think they will leave us with a reservation?

[golfgod]

akck wrote;

A company does not buy a foreign company based on national debt, or trade deficit, or budget deficit

That's (partially) correct. But a falling dollar (which we've had for the last few years, make it particularly cheap (in their currency) for foreigners to purchase our (US) assets.

A couple of years back when GM fell below $15/share, either Boon Pickens or Carl Icahn made a strong run at it because he felt that GMAC was worth most of that number and the "break up" value of the rest made it worth more than $15/share. I haven't heard anything like that this go round though, maybe the value of the GMAC part has been hammered.

OTOH, GM is considered by many to be THE LEADER in developing "fuel cell"/"hydrogen" power technology for transportation. If Toyota swooped in and bought GM at today's fire sale prices that would be yet another technology (which I believe is THE WAY out of our current mess) that the US carmakers failed to (or in this case weren't able to) capitalize on.

golfgod