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Why do we have a national debt at all?
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2023 Mar 27, 9:37am 12,740 views 128 comments
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118
PeopleUnited
2024 Feb 13, 6:25am
PeopleUnited
2024 Feb 13, 6:25am
zzyzzx says
Stop funding warfare programs as well. It’s one thing to have a well equipped military. It’s quite another to play policeman for the world.
Stop funding all welfare programs and the budget will be balanced.
Stop funding warfare programs as well. It’s one thing to have a well equipped military. It’s quite another to play policeman for the world.
120
DemocratsAreTotallyFucked
2024 Jun 19, 7:03pm
DemocratsAreTotallyFucked
2024 Jun 19, 7:03pm
UkraineIsTotallyFucked says
"Ferguson’s Law states that any great power that spends more on debt service (interest payments on the national debt) than on defense will not stay great for very long. True of Hapsburg Spain, true of ancien régime France, true of the Ottoman Empire, true of the British Empire." -Niall Ferguson
121
Patrick
2024 Jun 19, 7:18pm
Patrick
2024 Jun 19, 7:18pm
So why do we have any fucking national debt at all?
Just so the Fed can get interest payments from taxpayers?
Just so the Fed can get interest payments from taxpayers?
122
FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden
2024 Jun 19, 7:22pm
Patrick says
i don’t understand how this shit works too. they sell bonds, pay interest on bonds…
So why do we have any fucking national debt at all?
Just so the Fed can get interest payments from taxpayers?
i don’t understand how this shit works too. they sell bonds, pay interest on bonds…
123
stereotomy
2024 Jun 19, 7:34pm
stereotomy
2024 Jun 19, 7:34pm
To answer the OP question: It's to keep the banksters happy.
Debt, as @Wookieman says is a contract which can be broken. You can't imprison people chained in your basement for unpaid debts to you like they did in the Roman Empire. On the other hand, they're trying to bring back debtors prisons via the backdoor of court fees.
In the early years of this country, the Colonies had issued debt to finance the Revolutionary War in part. After the war, Hamilton successfully pushed to have these bonds repaid at 100%. Of course, his cronies had been buying up Colonial debt for pennies on the dollar before this happened.
Who knows, maybe Aaron Burr did us a favor?
Debt, as @Wookieman says is a contract which can be broken. You can't imprison people chained in your basement for unpaid debts to you like they did in the Roman Empire. On the other hand, they're trying to bring back debtors prisons via the backdoor of court fees.
In the early years of this country, the Colonies had issued debt to finance the Revolutionary War in part. After the war, Hamilton successfully pushed to have these bonds repaid at 100%. Of course, his cronies had been buying up Colonial debt for pennies on the dollar before this happened.
Who knows, maybe Aaron Burr did us a favor?
124
Patrick
2024 Jun 19, 7:52pm
Patrick
2024 Jun 19, 7:52pm
FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden says
@FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden
It's deliberately complicated. The US government sells bonds to get cash, and the Fed buys those bonds with newly printed dollars.
So the Fed starts with nothing, but gets interest payments from all of us on money it created out of thin air.
Patrick says
So why do we have any fucking national debt at all?
Just so the Fed can get interest payments from taxpayers?
i don’t understand how this shit works too. they sell bonds, pay interest on bonds…
@FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden
It's deliberately complicated. The US government sells bonds to get cash, and the Fed buys those bonds with newly printed dollars.
So the Fed starts with nothing, but gets interest payments from all of us on money it created out of thin air.
125
stereotomy
2024 Jun 19, 8:01pm
stereotomy
2024 Jun 19, 8:01pm
Patrick says
The Fed supposedly reimburses the gubment for any interest it collects on the Treasuries it holds. It's real profits stem from the power and influence as the agent of seigniorage, as has already been mentioned
FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden says
Patrick says
So why do we have any fucking national debt at all?
Just so the Fed can get interest payments from taxpayers?
i don’t understand how this shit works too. they sell bonds, pay interest on bonds…
FortwayeAsFuckJoeBiden
It's deliberately complicated. The US government sells bonds to get cash, and the Fed buys those bonds with newly printed dollars.
So the Fed starts with nothing, but gets interest payments from all of us on money it created out of thin air.
The Fed supposedly reimburses the gubment for any interest it collects on the Treasuries it holds. It's real profits stem from the power and influence as the agent of seigniorage, as has already been mentioned
126
DemocratsAreTotallyFucked
2024 Jun 19, 9:56pm
DemocratsAreTotallyFucked
2024 Jun 19, 9:56pm
stereotomy says
Only for the bonds on the Fed's balance sheet. Interest on bonds held by everyone else Congress has to pay up.
The Fed supposedly reimburses the gubment for any interest it collects on the Treasuries it holds. It's real profits stem from the power and influence as the agent of seigniorage, as has already been mentioned
Only for the bonds on the Fed's balance sheet. Interest on bonds held by everyone else Congress has to pay up.
127
AD
2024 Jun 21, 10:56pm
AD
2024 Jun 21, 10:56pm
Patrick says
Yeah Patrick, this year the federal debt service payments will be greater than the Pentagon budget. I think this is the first time that has ever occurred for the US federal government :-/
I hope this trend reverses some as deficits and debt decrease steadily with decreasing US Treasury interest rates and an improving economy.
.
Yeah Patrick, this year the federal debt service payments will be greater than the Pentagon budget. I think this is the first time that has ever occurred for the US federal government :-/
I hope this trend reverses some as deficits and debt decrease steadily with decreasing US Treasury interest rates and an improving economy.
.
128
AD
2024 Jun 21, 11:00pm
AD
2024 Jun 21, 11:00pm
stereotomy says
The Fed has been losing some money now. At least it is reducing its Treasuries and mortgage back securities holdings.
" (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it officially saw a net negative income of $114.3 billion in 2023, a record loss tied to expenses related to managing the U.S. central bank's short-term interest rate target. The loss last year follows $58.8 billion in net income in 2022, the Fed said.Mar 26, 2024 "
The Fed supposedly reimburses the gubment for any interest it collects on the Treasuries it holds. It's real profits stem from the power and influence as the agent of seigniorage, as has already been mentioned
The Fed has been losing some money now. At least it is reducing its Treasuries and mortgage back securities holdings.
" (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it officially saw a net negative income of $114.3 billion in 2023, a record loss tied to expenses related to managing the U.S. central bank's short-term interest rate target. The loss last year follows $58.8 billion in net income in 2022, the Fed said.Mar 26, 2024 "
« First « Previous Comments 117 - 128 of 128 Search these comments
I know that a lot of people say so that the Fed can collect interest from taxpayers, and that may be so, but why would the government even agree to that?
It seems that every country on earth has national debt, but how can this be? It always costs more to borrow and pay interest than to save and simply pay for something.
Is every country on earth stupid and/or irresponsible? Is it just that they have more demand for services than they can afford? If that's so, then it's still stupid because they have to pay it off eventually anyway. Or do they just keep rolling over the debt forever, growing ever larger? Eventually their debts will be infinite and the interest will be unpayable.