This has to stop. Since the government forced so much of the economy to close, this last bill is understandable, but we have already exploded the budget deficit to no telling how many trillions of dollars for this fiscal year. I feel sorry for the young people in this country. With all this massive debt being laid on their backs, they are going to have a tremendously rough go in the years ahead. Congress needs to at least stop making the load heavier.
“Early indicators about the efficacy of the CARES Act and federal efforts to prop up the economy are not promising. On Friday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) botched the online rollout of a loan program and early responses to various bailouts are not heartening. In order to maximize payouts from the government, airlines are flying empty planes and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., notoriously fired 100 musicians "just hours after President Trump signed a $25 million taxpayer bailout for the cultural center."
I'm starting to wonder if there is any consequences for running up the national debt. I'm a fiscal conservative through-and-through. I've been hearing about the dangers of the escalating national debt for over FIFTY YEARS now. Republicans don't seem to care about the debt unless there is a Democrat in the White House. Then it's a big problem. But when Republicans are in there the spend almost as much as the Democrats.
I remember when George W. Bush became president. One of the first things he did was increase farm subsidies. Then he got the prescription drug benefit passed into law. Also, he signed the No Child Left Behind bill. All of these added to the budget deficit. Simultaneously, he cut taxes across the board. Bush's first budget was for $2 Trillion. Bush's last budget, just eight years later was for $3.5 trillion.
We all know how much Obama increased the debt (from $11 trillion to $19 trillion). Now here is Trump spending because of COVID-19 (debt is now at $23 trillion, before the pandemic spending.). And Trump has already increased military spending and domestic spending and wanted a $1 trillion infrastructure bill.
We're told the national debt increasing will squeeze credit markets, cause interest rates to go up, GDP growth will slow, etc. etc.
Yet, we had low interest rates all through the 2010's and they just went lower. This is supposed to cause an oversupply of money which will lead to inflation. However, inflation has been almost non-existent for 15 years now. It's easy to get low interest loans and has been for 10 years. GDP growth under Trump in some quarters were the highest since the Clinton years. So where is the damaging effects of the debt?
The old bill was underfunded. The money is not there to pay for what it committed to do.
We would be much better off if the Government just left us alone and let the free market play out.
People should learn to save up money and not live hand to mouth. Bailouts simply teach irresponsibility.
This time the socialist democrats will insist on mail in ballots for POTUS election?
Even though it was rejected before, they just dont give up do they, not ever, not until they are dead and or gone from office. This would be an opportunity crime against the people, because you know the fraud which would result from this, election results could not be trusted.
In our area of VA, we have a decent system, you fill out the ballot by hand with a pen, then you put it into the machine and your done. No electronic paperless ballots, hanging chads...it is very quickly done at our neighborhood elementary school.
Sure, when the economy is flowing high we can pay our debts. When it adjusts (and it always does) then less money comes into the hands of the every day worker to pay taxes on and less money in the coffers of the corps. So what does the government do? Well it prints more money to fix the problem. Eventually the economy is floating on thin air propped up by politicians. Interest rates eventually go up, again, taking money out of American hands.
Fewer dollars in the hands of Americans fewer dollars in the economy. . Take a look at what happened to greece. More away from debt and government means a stronger economy. When we go the opposite direction the opposite happens.
The situation in Weimar Germany is often brought up as a cautionary tale for other nations. The situation in Weimar Germany had so many variables that could never be duplicated making its comparison to any country nowadays illegitimate.
The economic situation in post WWI Germany was terrible. This was due to several factors that cannot apply to any nations current situation.
* The majority of males 18-45 had been killed in the Great War. These are the people needed to supply the manpower to revitalize their industry. The country of Germany had virtually no labor force.
* The war reparations demanded by the Versailles Treaty were onerous and required gold bullion to satisfy payment. Basically the victors stripped the money supply out of Germany. (I think Germany only recently paid up the full amount required by the treaty.)
* The country's infrastructure was destroyed by the war. Factories were in ruins. Transportation via railroads was spotty. Again, no workforce to rebuild the infrastructure.
So add it up--no workforce, no money, and no industry. OF COURSE there will be hyper inflation because there was NOTHING backing their paper currency. So when they printed money, it really was worthless.
Not so in the United States. We have a workforce. We have industry. Our infrastructure is not decimated by war. We have products we can make. We can move those products across the nation and can export these products. Our money may not be backed by gold anymore but neither is any other major nation.
Do you mean "we" as being individuals, or governments? Or both?
?? Less money in the coffers of the corps? I don't understand this.
When the economy slows, wages do not increase as much as in good times, yes. The government will collect less in income taxes, yes. Unemployment might increase reducing incomes for families.
None of this has happened in the past 25-30 years of printing money. Interest rates have not been ridiculously high since the early 80's. Inflation has not been a factor for at least 20 years.
Yes, but printing money and having easy credit means more money in the hands of Americans.