MarvinSussman

A Fable for Nuts who want a Small Gummint:

The US gummint wants a lot of stuff for the next year so it gives the public sector a LOT of money to make the stuff. By the end of the year, all the stuff is delivered. The public sector uses the money to make the stuff and used its income to satisfy its needs and also to start new enterprises and do some commerce.


After the stuff is all delivered, the gummint says to the public sector:

"You remember all that money I gave you to make that stuff? Well, I see that you put about 5% of it into your savings accounts. That was a good idea! Tell you what l will do, I will auction off some risk-free, interest-bearing bonds that you can use for trade collateral, bank reserves, pension funds, etc. That will be a store of wealth that you will need for your future. That’s the only way you can accumulate wealth for the future.

“And you sent another 7% of the money to China so I will make the same offer to them so they will have trade collateral. That will help maintain the status of the US dollar as a reserve currency, which simplifies trade and reduces import prices.

That 12% is money I could have taxed with the other 88% but you need that money more than I do. I can make all I need.

"Now about that 88% of the budget that you still have, I want it back because if I let you keep it, you will go hog-wild and overspend and cause inflation. So send that 88% back. Now! Or else -"

The liberal hears that and says: "Ouch! But I guess it's a reasonable request. I will pay my taxes and enjoy the savings."

The conservative hears that and says: "Gummint, you need the money more than we do. Take all of it back! We don’t need savings. Just reduce our taxes so we won’t have savings. And cut back on the spending. We can do without the infrastructure."

LIBERAL: Wait! We need that infrastructure for our grandchildren! And the unemployed need those construction jobs. And the economy needs their spending. And we do need the savings.


CONSERVATIVE: Those lazy unemployed people ought to look for other jobs. If the gummint does all that spending, it will get too big. I want a small gummint. And if the gummint sells all those bonds, it will have too much debt.


LIBERAL: That debt is our wealth1 How can we have too much wealth? The gummint can’t possibly have a debt problem. When a bond matures, the Treasury just sends a check that never bounces. The only cost to the gummint is the interest.

CONSERVATIVE: But if the debt gets real big and the interest rate goes up, the budget will explode.


LIBERAL: The interest rate won't go up if we have a lot of wealth and everybody bids for bonds, raises the bid price, and lowers the interest rate. The gummint just has to make its deficit spending as big as what we save and what we send to China. There is no problem as long as the GDP growth rate is greater than the debt interest rate which will stay low as long as we grow wealthy and spend and keep the GDP growth rate high.


CONSERVATIVE: Well, I have to live within my means and so does the gummint. I can't spend more than my income and neither can the gummint. We need a Constitutional amendment to enforce a balanced budget.


LIBERAL: But the gummint does not depend on income. The Constitution lets the gummint spend without limit. We get taxed only to prevent inflation. And if the gummint takes all the money back, the money supply will lose the amount we save and send to China every year. Eventually, that will cause deflation and recessions.
Wouldn't it be better to use the deficit for infrastructure for our grandchildren and fix the bridges before they fall into the river and get full employment and prosperity and put an end to poverty and empty the prisons and increase our wealth for retirement?

CONSERVATIVE: But with full employment and empty prisons and prosperity forever, Those People will become middle class and get uppity. No way! Gummint! Please don't leave money on the table! Whatever you spend, take it all back! We need that amendment for a balanced budget.

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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Wait a minute, Rob! I never said the two were anywhere close to the same. The author said that NEITHER can solve all the myriad of problems, and I believe that is totally true. No matter who sits as President, he has to rely on Congress for specific things. Congress is horribly defective. As are our courts. The democrats fight everything the pubbies want to do, and the pubbies are too chicken to respond in kind and are apparent wimps. The President can unconstitutionally rule by fiat as Obama tries to do, but it IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL and he should be kicked out for those actions.......pubby POLITICIANS are too timid to even TRY to get him stopped. So if Trump can overcome that barrier without going rogue, I'll love him eternally, but I sincerely doubt he can WITHOUT BECOMING AN OBAMA OF THE RIGHT.....i.e., willing to go against the US Constitution. This article is about convention of states whereby the states get their original rights back where they belong. This is not about Trump OR Hillary.......it is ABOUT OUR NATION'S ESCAPE FROM TERMINAL OBLITERATION. NO PRESIDENT CAN PREVENT IT AS LONG AS SOCIALISTS SIT SO STRONGLY IN CONGRESS, and I see no sign that any socialist in the nation is going to stop being socialist. I know you think I am wrong, but if I am, I am in good company. I HOPE I am wrong. I HOPE everyone who believes that our nation sits on the brink of death is WRONG. But I don't believe we are wrong. We are all in this together and it would do us well to get our heads on right and quit fighting among ourselves: we have more than enough enemies before a single non-government person shows on the horizon.

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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Marvin, did they let you go without your medicine? This is too far-fetched for me to spend time examining it.

bahmer

The socialists have been working at this since 1960 approximately and have not stopped. They have infiltrated our education system and our local and state governments all the way to the federal government and to rid ourselves of these individuals would be a gigantic adventure and require the imprisonment of many labeled socialists or something equivalent to that. I don't know ir there are any other avenues open to us.

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

What you say is true, but I have read that it began in the '30's about the time the Federal Reserve came into being. They KNEW they couldn't make themselves known as socialists until enough eligible voters had been brainwashed, and the brainwashing was steady and done well. We have people now who are "eligible to vote", but haven't a clue as to who is the VP or the Speaker of the House, etc. They know how to text on cell phones, and they know how to demand special treatment, but they don't comprehend checkbooks, balances, etc. Once Obama came upon the scene, the hidden socialists KNEW it was safe to come out......however, I believe they should consider what they will do should a conservative miraculously win the election. One won't, of course, because I heard today that my libertarian party is going to run a candidate which will probably greatly harm Trump's chances.

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

So, people need to do something completely different - like refuse to vote for either Trump OR Clinton and vote independent. How often must I say this?

nwtk2007 Loc: Texas

Never happen.

MarvinSussman

Why don't you just admit that the fable is an exact description of conservative "balance-the-budget" idiocy. Austere budgets are destroying the next generation and you don't have the IQ to understand the fable.

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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Show me an austere budget put out by the federal government during the past 10 years.

MarvinSussman

You look at numbers and decide for yourself that they are big numbers when, in fact, you have no measuring stick.

70,000 US bridges are in critical need of repair. Google American Society of Civil Engineers.

75% of applicants are rejected by the army due to health or education.

I could go on for pages.

The point is that Congressional spending should be limited only by the onset of harmful inflation when it is controlled by the Fed with moderate long-term interest rates and by Congress with adequate progressive taxes on discretionary incomes, financial transactions, and estates.

The Fed has been trying to move inflation up to 2% for 8 years without success. We could have spent an additional $4T over 8 years without inflation. We have lost $4T of infrastructure for our grandchildren.

Why do you hate America?

Floyd Brown Loc: Milwaukee WI

What is the line from the Music Man: You can talk & you can whisper but you've got to know the territory.

Well we can yell & we can scream. You can supply all you want but you have to have the demand.

There is no big secret of where our problems are:

The more the Few hoard their money more of the product they wish to sell goes unsold.

And yes they go to the government, the big government they say is so bad & look for hand outs just like most.

Tasine Loc: Southwest US

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Don't tell me I hate America! I happen to be trying to SAVE it from mental retards such as yourself. I, too, could go on for ages, but no point. You can neither hear nor think so I don't waste time on you. If you WANTED to learn anything, I would spend hours with you, but I now know you cannot be taught what you don't want to hear. Good bye, Marvin. I hope you have a nice life even though your mind is twisted.

Glaucon

The future of America is as bright as we make it and whining and insisting the sky is falling will tend to make it less bright.

We have problems and we have had problems before. Trump is an unpredictable con artist and more of a gamble than most of us are willing to take. Some of the unsubstantiated gossip about Hillary may be true, but Trump's own words change from day to day and he is extremely dangerous.

fullspinzoo

Mr. Trump has been an incredible success all his life and he doesn't plan on stopping any time soon. He will be truly someone who could save this country from going into a unrecoverable tailspin. Oblome has just about destroyed this country. I'm not sure if it has been intensional but he has managed to "fundamentally change" this country and not for the better. Seventy percent of America believe we are on the wrong track. If you vote for the LIAR/FELON, you will continue on the wrong track. Or even make it worse....if that's possible. Trump has some great ideas. And as a very successful business, I think he can apply them to government. A businessman in the WH is an excellent proposition who definitely couldn't do any worse. But I think the market will take off, confidence in this country will be back, and at least we won't have a President going around and apologizing to half the World after being the greatest most giving country on the planet. What a moron this guy is! For a half white guy, he sure is an idiot.

Glaucon

in fuckin credible!!!!!! The spinner is a danger to himself and others.