tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post1137618740360291309..comments2024-02-19T07:24:42.397-08:00Comments on Anglican Curmudgeon: The Farcical "Debt Ceiling Crisis"A. S. Haleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-66268367139960817202011-07-14T17:37:58.053-07:002011-07-14T17:37:58.053-07:00Well, I do agree with gltnforpnshmnt. The US gove...Well, I do agree with gltnforpnshmnt. The US government doesn't have the ability to pay off the debt and is not even able to pay the interest and its other current obligations with out borrowing more money. Our country is essentially already bankrupt.Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16632860530530786486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-53484218613235621272011-07-14T10:23:05.274-07:002011-07-14T10:23:05.274-07:00Mr. Haley,
A very well done piece, with which I w...Mr. Haley,<br /><br />A very well done piece, with which I wholeheartedly agree. And your comments <i>in re</i> the "politicians and … the worthless media, which have done nothing to educate the public … standing around him and chattering away" brought immediately to my mind the epithet referring to the journalists and political operatives who see themselves as the arbiters of conventional wisdom—the chattering class.<br /><br />We are, I suspect, about to live through an uncomfortable period in American history, what the alleged Chinese curse suggests by living "in interesting times." One can only hope that the reality will serve to educate the electorate (present and future), but I am not holding my breath.<br /><br /><i>Pax et bonum</i>,<br />Keith TöpferMartial Artisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11679584221923893460noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-12321225727585300262011-07-14T07:54:36.999-07:002011-07-14T07:54:36.999-07:00we are already in "default." maybe not ...we are already in "default." maybe not technical default - but if you and i have to take a cash advance on a credit card to pay our other credit cards, we are for all intents and purposes bankrupt. the collectors don't care if you tell them "but my income will rise in the next few years!" till you're blue in the face.<br /><br />the way i see it: the only way anyone could ever borrow this amount of money is if they have no intention of paying it back. technical default is inevitable....or.....massive money printing and subsequent inflation, which will allow us to pay back our debts with worthless dollars, but will just cripple the economy. <br /><br />the question to me is how long policymakers can kick the can down the road. in other words - it may be entirely possible for us to stave off the real disaster for another generation or two somehow (the previous generations did). if politicians see this as a possibility, they will no doubt pursue that plan.gltnforpnshmnthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16567406194597053314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-47432842618062860492011-07-13T22:52:51.643-07:002011-07-13T22:52:51.643-07:00Bravo, Mr. Haley. Bravo !!!Bravo, Mr. Haley. Bravo !!!bluebird272https://www.blogger.com/profile/01138572507411756160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-33405977691718262062011-07-13T21:26:00.746-07:002011-07-13T21:26:00.746-07:00Technically, Perpetua, a default occurs whenever t...Technically, Perpetua, a default occurs whenever the government does not pay an obligation on its due date. However, if it pays the obligation in full three or four days later, no one is going to run to the courts and sue for "default", which would give them damages equal to just three or four days' interest. So for all practical purposes, if the government keeps paying off its obligations with the money it has coming in, but a week or so late, there will not be a "default", but only an inconvenience.A. S. Haleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05108498446058643166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-74858504621650614132011-07-13T20:59:00.535-07:002011-07-13T20:59:00.535-07:00When they say "default" do they mean spe...When they say "default" do they mean specifically not paying the interest on the loans or is it also "default" when salaries or Social Security checks aren't paid on time?Perpetuahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16632860530530786486noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-759178030677978044.post-60086104206554724072011-07-13T16:13:17.208-07:002011-07-13T16:13:17.208-07:00There are two interesting things about the entitle...There are two interesting things about the entitlement programs that make up the bulk of the unfunded liabilities:<br /><br />1) They masquerade as "charity" - as if we lowly citizens are the priest and levite who pass on the other side of the road - and the government is the Good Samaritan. However, it isn't "tzedakah" if you're forced by threat of imprisonment and violence to give. (God wants a *cheerful* giver, after all.)<br /><br />2) The effect (intent?) of government spending is to make all of us wards of the state. The howling that will arise when the government ceases to send out checks shows that large swathes of the citizens have already become enslaved - it's just that some cages are more gilded than others.<br /><br />The net effect is that the two major parties differ only in this: the Republicans bribe the wealthy with their own money - while the Democrats bribe the poor with money from the wealthy. Past government efforts have increased the number of poor - accelerates the spending (since it's not the poor's money in the first place).<br /><br />What we've forgotten is that *all* of it is the Lord's. Not only does hw own it, he has allodial title and graciously gives us the opportunity to be stewards of his bounty. We're currently taking it for riotous living or to buy and sell each other.Doug Steinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10097383385758958840noreply@blogger.com