Here is what true experts say about Monetarily Sovereign entities like the United States government and the European Union:
Alan Greenspan: “A government cannot become insolvent with respect to obligations in its own currency.”
Alan Greenspan: “There is nothing to prevent the federal government from creating as much money as it wantsand paying it to somebody.”
Alan Greenspan: “The United States can pay any debtit has because we can always print the money to do that.”
Ben Bernanke: “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost.”
Quote from former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke when he was on 60 Minutes: Scott Pelley: Is that tax money that the Fed is spending? Ben Bernanke: It’s not tax money… We simply use the computer to mark up the size of the account.
Statement from the St. Louis Fed: “As the sole manufacturer of dollars, whose debt is denominated in dollars, the U.S. government can never become insolvent, i.e., unable to pay its bills. In this sense, the government is not dependent on credit marketsto remain operational.”
Press Conference: Mario Draghi, President of the ECB, 9 January 2014 Question: I am wondering: can the ECB ever run out of money? Mario Draghi: Technically, no. We cannot run out of money.
Here is what people who are ignorant of Monetary Sovereignty say:
Although it’s volatile (like personal bank balances often are), the treasury’s cash pile of $57.3bn, recorded last Thursday, is by far the lowest figure for more than a year — and it’s well below the $150bn minimum that the treasury reportedly likes to keep as a buffer.
The X-date Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said to lawmakers that the “X-date” — the date when the US can no longer guarantee its ability to pay bills— is June 1st.
If the US government does run out of money, the biggest problem is a default on its debt.
Most analysts agree that a default would lead to complete financial chaos but the reality is that it’s anyone’s guess, because it’s never happened before.
“Will someone please get me a longer rope, so I don’t have to kill myself.”
The current debt ceiling stands at a whopping $31.4 trillion, legally limiting how much the treasury can borrow.
Because the government has the infinite ability to create dollars, it never borrows dollars. Sadly, the public doesn’t comprehend that simple fact.
Talks between President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy are set to resume today, as each side negotiates the latest fiscal package that would raise the limit, though both parties remain ideologically opposed on whether the new debt ceiling should come with deep cuts to, or caps on, federal spending.
The U.S. federal government has the infinite ability to pay its bills simply by pressing a computer key. It also has the infinite ability to raise the phony debt ceiling, which it already has done 94 times.
The spending that resulted in the current debt had been authorized by previous Congresses and previous Presidents. The current Republican House essentially is saying, “Even though the money already is spent, by both Democratic and Republican Congresses and Presidents — and even though we have infinite money to pay our bills — we aren’t going to pay what we owe.”
Sounds like something six-times-bankrupt Donald Trump would do. Despite being a billionaire, he has cheated many creditors, and now his party threatens to do what he has called “smart business.”
This is exactly what the 14th Amendment was written to stop.
(“The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned.”)
Now, the party of the biggest crook in Presidential history threatens to cheat our creditors unless the current President yields to their demands to raise your taxes (though not the taxes of the very rich) or to cut your benenfits (though not the benefits of the very rich).
Ironically, if President Biden invokes the 14th Amendment, the party that wants to cheat our creditors will claim that this is cheating the Constitution.
The question is, will the Democrats follow the Constitution and end the ridiculous “debt ceiling,” once and for all.
Then, we can leave it up to the right-wing SCOTUS, beholden to the “party-of-law-and-order,” to wriggle a way to claim that the Constitution really doesn’t say what it says.
Hey, they did it for the 2nd Amendment with regard to well-regulated militias; why not the 14th?
The debt hawks are to economics as the creationists are to biology.
The proponents and opponents of same-sex marriage cannot and will not ever agree. They are talking past each other. The problem is that the issue is religious/moral for some and legal/moral for others.
Those who oppose same-sex marriage focus on what they believe to be religious/moral factors. They quote the Leviticus passage, “Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman.” Those who support same-sex marriage focus on what they believe to be legal/moral factors. Many laws grant special privileges to married couples, not offered to unmarrieds. This is felt to be a violation of the 14th Amendment’s, “equal protection clause.”
Although the above is something of an oversimplification, it is impossible for people to agree, when they’re arguing about two different things. More examples:
Israelis and Palestinians may disagree on some facts (“Who was here first? Who fired first?), but fundamentally, the Jews really are talking about the Holocaust and Jewish survival (“Never again”) and the Palestinians really are talking about choice and Palestinian survival (“We have nowhere else to go.”) They are talking past each other.
The pro-lifers are talking about morals (“Do not murder.”) and the pro-choicers are talking about science (“An embryo is not yet a sentient human”). They are talking past each other.
Democrats feel caring for people is good for the economy. Republicans feel caring for the economy is good for people. They are talking past each other, and when people talk past each other, they don’t hear each other.
Listen to any argument, and eventually you’ll hear the words, “Yes, but.” That’s shorthand for, “I don’t want to listen to, or even think about, what you said” (That’s the “Yes” part). “I only want you to think about what I’m about to say.” (That’s the “but” part.)
There lies deep within us, the fear that if we listen too closely, our own arguments will be demolished. So we resist listening, lest we are forced to admit we are wrong, and our world will come crashing down.
Being consciously aware of this, I make a special effort to try to listen to debt hawks’ facts. Unfortunately, their favorite word seems to be “idiot, ” often followed by “stupid,” and they never get around to offering facts I can evaluate. They focus on popular wisdom and I focus on data, so we simply talk past each other, something like the creationists and the scientists.
What’s the solution? Courage. Have the courage to see your treasured beliefs proved wrong. Have the courage to evaluate the other guy’s side. Have the courage to listen, and perhaps to come to an accommodation. Any fool can close his mind and shout louder. It takes real courage and intelligence to listen, truly listen, to the other guy’s side.
Of course, that depends on the other guy presenting a side, rather than limiting himself to telling you you’re an idiot.
#Monetary Sovereignty - Mitchell 