Tag: federal deficits are unsustainable

–How President Obama’s National bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform could destroy America

The debt hawks are to economics as the creationists are to biology.

Parade Magazine, in its 7/4/10 “Intelligence Report”, printed an interview by Steven Beschloss and Janet Kinosian titled, “Can These Men Fix the Deficit?” The men are Erskine Bowles, a former White House chief of staff, and Alan Simpson, a former Republican Senate whip. Today, Messrs. Bowles and Simpson are co-chairs of President Obama’s National bipartisan Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.

Here, with my comments, are what they said:

BOWLES: “If we don’t solve the (federal) debt problem, we will be paying $1 trillion in interest in 2020. That’s money we can’t spend on Social Security, Medicare, education, infrastructure or innovation to make sure America is competitive in a global economy.”

RMM: “Of course, he’s dead wrong. America is a monetarily sovereign nation. Future spending is restricted neither by past spending, by debt, by deficits nor by tax collections. That $1 trillion in interest will function as an economic stimulus. This is classic cognitive inconsistency. Mr. Bowles believes the government cannot do what he sees with his own eyes, the government actually doing, i.e spending trillions on stimulus plans, despite debt that has grown more than 1,500% in only 30 years. In addition to cognitive inconsistency, he suffers from anthropomorphic economic disease – the mistaken belief that the government’s finances are like yours and mine.

BOWLES: “We’re looking at how we can reduce discretionary spending – things like education, transportation, the military, homeland security – and mandatory spending which includes Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. We also need to raise revenue.”

RMM: He believes that cutting back on education, transportation, the military, homeland security, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, while raising taxes, will “make sure America is competitive in a global economy.” The notion would be laughable if it weren’t so dangerous.

SIMPSON: “We’re not going to cut Social Security – we’re going to stabilize it. None of the ideas that have been presented will affect anyone over the age of 58.”

RMM: “Stabilize” is political double talk for, “We are going to cut Social Security for everyone 58 and younger.”

SIMPSON: “As it is, it (Social Security) can’t sustain itself.”

RMM: Ah, the old (and false) “unsustainable” claim.

BOWLES: “We’re going to work our hearts out succeed.”

RMM: In their world, “Fiscal Responsibility and Reform” are code words for austerity, which always causes recessions and depressions. Heaven help us from those who have power, yet cannot learn.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

No nation can tax itself into prosperity

–Less debt . . . oh, wait. More debt.

An alternative to popular faith

The 6/30/10 editorial in the Chicago Tribune, titled, “Enough debt, already,” had me confused. At first I thought they meant private debt. After all, consumers now deal with mortgages they can’t handle and credit cards charging 20% or more interest. And business profits, or lack thereof, won’t support much more debt without increased consumer buying. Consumers and businesses are going bankrupt in droves, so at this stage of the recession, “Enough debt, already” seems like good advice for the private sector.

But no, that is not what the Tribune meant. They wanted less federal debt and more private debt. The federal government has the unlimited ability to pay any debt of any size. It is a government that neither needs nor uses tax money to pay its debts. Yet the editors say, “. . . the U.S. has gone way, way down the path toward unsustainable debt . . .”

Will the government be unable to service its debts? No, that cannot happen. So, what makes federal debt “unsustainable”? The Tribune editors never say. However they call for more lending to business, despite the fact that growing business debt can be unsustainable. To make matters worse, the Tribune cheers the restriction on unemployment checks to those people who would have used those checks to buy things from businesses, thereby stimulating business. (“Unemployment checks extending up to 99 weeks instead of the usual 26 add more indebtedness.”)

The editors correctly say, “The U.S. economy is hungry for credit,” not realizing this means the U.S. economy is hungry for money, and federal deficit spending is the government’s method for adding money to the economy. The editors lament, “Washington already has bequeathed to our descendants a nation debt of $13 trillion,” – an untrue statement – and simultaneously wants to bequeath to our descendants added business debt. (Who do they think pays for business debt?)

To summarize: The Tribune editors oppose debt creation by the one entity that can afford unlimited debt service, but advocate more debt for the over-extended private sector. They support looser lending standards, so that less qualified businesses can go deeper into debt. They oppose increasing regulations on lenders, the same lenders whose unsupervised, profligate lending triggered the recession. They favor the end to federal stimulus plans, which would add the money they say the economy needs. And they hope the economy will recover — somehow.

Clearly, economics is not the Tribune editors’ forte.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

No nation can tax itself into prosperity

–Salvation for Europe?

An alternative to popular faith

Readers of this blog understand the difference between a monetarily sovereign nation (which has the unlimited ability to pay its bills, even without taxing or borrowing), such as the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, et al, vs. the European Union nations which have not had this ability, because of EU rules.

In previous posts I predicted the EU’s demise, and now that has been coming true. The PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain) are the most indebted of the EU nations, and not having the unlimited ability to service debts, they are the most threatened. If nothing is done, all EU nations will go bankrupt.

But, if hints in the news media are correct, something may be done. Rumor has it that the European Central Bank (ECB), which does have the unlimited ability to create euros, may buy enough debt to keep members afloat. That would bring the ECB a step closer to the U.S. Treasury in function, and (without being overly dramatic) save the world.

The parallel continues. The fifty U.S. states are like the EU nations in that they too cannot create money at will (See: SAVE CALIFORNIA). They can survive, because the federal government pumps in money, via such federal payments as road building, military spending, etc. The same is true of U.S. counties and cities. All need money input in excess of taxes.

If indeed the ECB begins to function like the U.S. Treasury, the EU nations’ solvency problems instantly will disappear, depending upon how much aid the ECB provides. Sadly however, this will not end the debt-hawks tragic misunderstanding of money, so expect to see continuing cries for “austerity,” which will hamstring the EU’s economies, as the debt-hawks have hamstrung ours.

Suggested reading: MOSLER

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

No nation can tax itself into prosperity

–More debt-hawk injuries to America

An alternative to popular faith

Here is yet another example of many such instances (See: DAMAGES) showing the continuing damage debt-hawks cause America and our poorest citizens:
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By Greg Hitt and Sara Murray, WASHINGTON, 6/25/10: “Spooked by concern about deficits, the Senate shelved a spending bill that included an extension of unemployment benefits, suddenly cutting off a federal cash spigot opened by President Barack Obama when he took office 18 months ago.

“The collapse of the wide-ranging legislation means that a total of 1.3 million unemployed Americans will have lost their assistance by the end of this week. It will also leave a number of states with large budget holes they had expected to full with federal cash to help with Medicaid costs.”
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What is the evidence large federal deficits harm America? There is none. Yet, based solely on mystical faith and unsupported belief, the debt hawks have managed to punish millions of our poorest Americans.

The debt-hawks have heads of stone. They have hearts of stone, too.

Rodger Malcolm Mitchell
http://www.rodgermitchell.com

No nation can tax itself into prosperity