Is budget deficit good or bad?

[OddBeMe]

Goddamn economics. It’s both. Game theory. Someone always wins. When govt spends money it’s a deficit but where the money goes it’s a plus.

STOP seeing the deficit as bad, just see it and our debt as something to manage.

The govt has been printing money freely for nearly 100 years. As long as you got a consumer market to balance the spending, we’re good partner!

Weimar Republic was the obvious worst case of currency inflation. People were paid by millions for an egg. BECAUSE they stupidly printed money without the expectations of it being all used. Ie, no demand or consuming was happening. Thus inflation.

American dollar hasn’t inflated because our economists make sure we print (Quantitative Easing) when there’s demand for the money.

Deficit and debt bad. We cut everything til nothing left!

We need to responsibly manage debt, but it’s good

Other

[Anonymous]

You seem to have no idea.. The Budget Deficit was bad 40 years ago. Today it is unmanageable catastrophic.

The interest alone on the existing dept is already larger than the military, next year it will be larger than the socialist programs, and larger still each year thereafter.

As we find yourself forced to borrow ever larger amounts just to finance the existing dept at ever higher interest rates. (Because people rightfully don't trust we can control inflation)

We are already past the point of control, short of some sort of some economic revolution that multiplies our income. We don't avoid large scale devaluation of the Dollar in this scenario and maybe the goverment as well.

We will cease to be able to pay the interest due to exponential higher interest rates and dept. (bankruptcy)

Meaning the dept will be monetized (inflation), which means more and more countries who happen to hold most of the existing dollars will be shifting over to the alternative systems being established. Thus leading to even more inflation.

[NathanDavis]

the base of capitalism is...

that good and bad does not mean the same for everyone...

[OddBeMe]

Very true. I think we’re too sometimes to scared to discuss these things.

[NathanDavis]

that's why they hold pensions and savings...

[OddBeMe]

There been some shady shit there. I hope govt pensions aren’t being used like poker chips on Wall Street.

[MrOracle]

Debt isn't always bad, but the US has been borrowing and spending like a drunk teenage girl at the mall with daddy's credit cards, for DECADES STRAIGHT. People have gotten FAR too comfortable with completely irresponsible spending and with endless "free money" from the government - which we all suffer from in the forms of inflation and higher taxes/lower services.

The level of corruption in the government is insane, because it's been normalized, and career politicians being able to make secret deals and buy stocks with inside information and become multimillionaires is vile, because that comes at the expense of taxpayers.

If people don't wake up and vote for better representation, things will continue to degrade.

[OddBeMe]

Japan has had raging deficits for the last 30 years and no inflation. Because there’s been business to soak it up.

[MrOracle]

They had a serious, long depression prior to that - so they funded significant growth. We're funding foreign wars and illegal immigrants. Not the same thing.

[OddBeMe]

I can’t argue the details but the wide angle image still stands: they had 30 years of raging debt and deficits and a good economy. Covid and tsunamis keep pounding them but it’ll pass.

[Chazmatazz269]

We’re NOT good though, and the only way to “manage” the debt is through foreign wars. You can’t lambaste multiple ongoing wars AND suggest the economy is fine because we’re “managing our debt”. Ell oh ell!
Our military industrial complex is the strongest feeder to our market viability because not only is it wildly profitable, but it’s how we maintain alliances. Alliances that are critical to our economy for two major reasons. One, resources and access to them; moderately important. Two, we NEED foreign markets to continue backing our sh*t currency or we go belly up. So, when we can’t pay debts, what do we do? We fight someone else’s war.
It’s literally no different than owing a loan shark a great deal of money. You either let him kneecap you, or you do “favors” for him, which usually means kneecapping someone else. Better them than you though, right?
Endless global conflict for profit and uneasy alliances. Yeah, we’re really rocking the economy! 👍👍

[OddBeMe]

What foreign war?

[msc545]

Right now Gaza and Ukraine. Just because there aren't any American troops, there doesn't matter. What matters is our economic involvement in these wars. The Israeli government buys massive quantities of weapons from us with money. We give them that they then turn around and essentially invest in the US defense industry for military equipment. The government in Ukraine also buys massive amounts of military equipment from us with money that we give them that they then use to buy weapons manufactured by US defense contractors. If you think these situations are somewhat alike, you weren't wrong. If you also think that both of these situations represent a US subsidy to the US defense industry, you are not wrong. This is called socialism for the defense industry and capitalism for the rest of us. If this strikes, you was unfair. Unjust and unreasonable. You aren't wrong.

[Anonymous]

We don't have a consumer market to back it up because nobody is earning, the Middle classes basically don't exist anymore. We are currently seeing the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the United States, everyone and everything is overtaxed and overregulated. Average People in the next 20 years are going to find that their pension and social security contributions have no value and will have to work until 80 otherwise they won't be able to pay the high property taxes on their homes and find themselves evicted. There's places in America where you can't set up a small green house or plant vegetables in your backyard, you can't collect rainwater, can't erect a small temporary garden shed or keep fish for eating in a small pond. They won't let you home school your kids but will insist you send you kids to a failing school riddled with gang violence.

Soon you will need a permitt just to take a piss.

[WindAtMyBack]

The deficit is bad for economic reasons. It's even worse for political reasons. It means the government is doing stuff they shouldn't be.

Taxes, deficit and debt are all symptoms of an underlying problem, which is oversized government.

On top of that, it creates dependency. The more the government spends, the more people want. The more dependent the people are, the less independent they are, and the less freedom they have. It's turning people into total wimps.

[DrPepper12]

Debt is NECESSARY. it's not even negotiable. It's management of it that is the problem. Most Americans don't even realize that when the national debt is referenced that 70% of that debt is owned by Americans and US-based companies in the form of bonds and bills. Essentially, we owe ourselves that money. The problem is it's our grandkids that are going to have to pay it. Thanks Ronnie Reagan!!

[msc545]

doesn't matter unless you want to trash an administration over it.

[OddBeMe]

As I sometimes have hated the Fed, they’ve handled this inflation quite expertly.

[ProbablyClueless]

They really did handle it quite well... Their only fault is one of circumstance. They had to find a way to solve a supply-side problem with demand-side inputs.

[OddBeMe]

@ProbablyClueless quite right. Inflation happens in history when there’s no consumers. Print away QE!

[Juxtapose]

This is absolute rubbish. Inflation is a very real thing and the value of our dollar has gone down, indisputably so.

We should be aiming to not only balance the budget but eliminate all debt. So far only Andrew Jackson has done that.

[OddBeMe]

Do you love lying? Or like Trump can’t help it?

https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

[Juxtapose]

Inflation calculators are bullshit because they do not take into account food or energy costs. How convenient for them, eh?

[Juxtapose]

A $5 ft long I could get at Subway is now over $12. This did not happen over a long period of time.

[OddBeMe]

What isn’t bullshit to you? Just YouTubers and right wing sites with simple slogans you agree with?

The dollar and Euro are affected by food and energy industry dumbass. So as a basic metric this works.

[Juxtapose]

No it does not work. They deliberately remove food and energy costs to distort the real number. The Biden administration even changed how inflation was calculated to further obfuscate his bad economic policies.

[Juxtapose]

Most of what you believe in is going to be bullshit to me because we are at odds. You trust things I think are the antithesis of trustworthiness.

[OddBeMe]

You know inflation happens as cost of living rises? It’s actually a good thing. The subway slogan was just good marketing at the time that it’s a meme now you stole like an idiot.

It’s good that subway charges more.

[Juxtapose]

No it's not, the value of our dollars way down. My roommate managed to double his income over a period of time but then the housing prices more than doubled. What he could afford back then was what he can afford now even though he is far more productive and making far more money.

[Juxtapose]

Actually the home he could afford back then is more than he can afford now. Inflation is bad, reckless spending is bad, balance the budget and reduces debt to zero. Control inflation, practice austerity.

Austerity is a dirty word to a lot of people but it doesn't need to be. We don't need to cut Social programs, we need to cut the fat in terms of getting rid of all this corrupt, unnecessary bloat. The military could be slashed in half, tons of Wall Street loopholes could be closed, campaign finance reform, don't send foreign aid to anyone and so on.

[OddBeMe]

No. You’re just an idiot.

[Juxtapose]

You always deflect when you're backed into a corner.

[OddBeMe]

Austerity is a dirty word for a dirty deed. We don’t need to fuck over poor people or ourselves to lower govt spending. That’s propaganda your dumbass roommate told you.

[Juxtapose]

HAHAHAHAHA!

I live with a man and have seen him try to get a house for years, he even showed me what it used to cost compared to what it costs now. You are so lost.

And I never said we need to fuck over poor people. Are you even paying attention?

[Juxtapose]

*live with the man

[itsclearlynicholas]

I voted Other. I ain't American. I just know, no advice, in my country I keep voting Left and I'll likely keep voting Left. Lol. Joe Biden for second term y'all :)

[itsclearlynicholas]

In my country, I vote eventually (it's a party ballot system) where my vote usually goes to the Left or Left wing parties) 🎉🎉🎉

[Sevenpointfive]

simple economics doesn't get past these criminals. it's good! or bad! we get paid either way lol

[exitseven]

It is useful up to a point. We passed that point 20 years ago.

[OtterMan68]

Last president to leave office with less debt than he started with was...

[OtterMan68]

Also, many economists say the time to CUT spending is during good ecnomic times, so if Trump had the "greatest economy in history," why didn't he at the very least, veto spending bills that increased spending?

[OddBeMe]

Because his voters don’t see tax cuts as “spending”. Which is the dumbest thing ever.

[OtterMan68]

but he cut taxes AND increased spending, so double hit to the deficit

[OddBeMe]

Ehh I guess. What else did spend on? His tax cuts and scotus judges were his only victories.

[FuqUFggt]

Bad. No duh.

[OddBeMe]

https://youtu.be/Md-7wY3bm_g