U.S. Government Collapse Inches Closer....

[MaryAnne]

My education is in POLITICAL Economy. Therefore, the "if" is di regueur. But, I will suggest that anyone who re-farts the angle that we MUST "pay down debt", is full of it. I just heard today, that Standard and Poor's now ajudges our debt as something akin to "okay", as opposed the "big problem" they saw it as in the 5-6 years prior. Of course, my point isn't to suggest Standard and Poor's as any sort of be all and end all, to this question.

Still though, even they hint (what most of us should know by now) that there's a certain level of debt relative to the size of our economy, that's actually good. As long as our economy grows, there's no need of our paying paying down debt. And, as long as our economy grows more than debt, we can even increase debt and be all good.

The only reason we would want to undertake some longterm scheme to "pay down debt", is if we're convinced that out economy is going to SHRINK in the decades to come.

Sounds good to me!

 

[EatTheRich]

American productivity has outpace inflation for decades now. There's little or nothing on our horizon to suggest that that won't continue. And, the top-screeder sure as hell doesn't suggest anything! So, IF productivity grows faster than inflation, the top-screeder's entire theme is false.

Our more real problem going forward, is that the benefits of that increased production may not derive to the masses.

Those benefits will not extend to the masses. Capitalism as a global system is nearly exhausted. There are few efforts anywhere, including the U.S., to increase productivity by increasing fixed capital investments. The U.S.'s increases in productivity since the 1990s have not come from this source but from making fewer workers work harder for less money. And it's the class warfare when these workers push back that will ultimately cause the collapse of the U.s. government.

 

[fairsheet]

Those benefits will not extend to the masses. Capitalism as a global system is nearly exhausted. There are few efforts anywhere, including the U.S., to increase productivity by increasing fixed capital investments. The U.S.'s increases in productivity since the 1990s have not come from this source but from making fewer workers work harder for less money. And it's the class warfare when these workers push back that will ultimately cause the collapse of the U.s. government.

I hope you'll note that I essentially made the same case you are here. The threat is not debt, it's the uneven distribution of the wealth created.

 

[EatTheRich]

Yeah, the U.S.'s debt to GDP ratio is actually quite a bit lower than, say, Germany's or France's.