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> I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, Aren't they opposites? > For a long time, I complained that the US couldn't afford such a thing, but we've

> I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, Aren't they opposites? > For a long time, I complained that the US couldn't afford such a thing, but we've been running a huge deficit for decades, and no one seems to care, One mistake that people make is believing that no deficit is a good thing. Running a deficit is like borrowing to fund college. Another is that money is worth something. If as a generation all the wealth was owned by rich retired unproductive people, but the only way that food is generated is from poor working people, the elderly are screwed. Savings are not value, they are a hope that the future generations as a whole will be kind enough to work for old people based only on how much old people did when they were productive. If future generations decide they will not pay any attention to old people's money, what happens then? What do I care that in 1960 you worked 60 hour weeks saving $500,000 in assets. Why shouldn't my generation decide "lets reduce the value of the dollar to 10% of it's current value, and lets put a massive tax on assets to redistribute to working people (say swapping income tax for an asset tax). That way I only owe rich people 1 year's salary in debt, not 10, my wage would simply have a zero added to the end (as would prices). The tax relief would mean a real wage increase too.

SonOfKyuss 9y ago
> > I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, > Aren't they opposites? Not OP, but not necessarily. Basically, Libertarians strongly support civil liberties in many forms. That can mean supporting drug legalization (liberal) and also gun rights (conservative). It can also mean supporting an individual's right to discriminate in private business transactions (men's or all-white golf clubs, hetero-only bakeries) which would likely be viewed as a really conservative social stance. Many Libertarians also strongly support States' Rights, which tend to lean conservative.
TheRealDunkirk 9y ago
>> I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, >Aren't they opposites? It's sad that everything about American politics casts every issue in black and white, either/or, polar-opposites mentality, and must be labelled. I was just trying to "get on paper" for context with my post. > Running a deficit is like borrowing to fund college. That may have been the most unfortunate example you could have used, since so many people are not seeing the value of their education in the marketplace pay off that investment in a reasonable period. Regardless, I understand what you're saying, but if you're trying to tell me that the deficit that the US federal government consistently runs is a planned, strategic effort, I'm not buying it. ;-)
- Clubber 9y ago
  It's not but keep in mind with no debt, there is no US treasury market. You have to have a little bit of it. Having said that, government debt is a little different from personal or business debt for a couple of major reasons: 1. Government's don't die. If they do, debt is the least of your worries. 2. Governments can control inflation and print money. Having said that, I'm not agreeing our amount of debt is good or even ok, it's just there are different things to consider and it isn't really analogous to personal or business debt.
- ianai 9y ago
  The government is either going to have a cash outlay or cash influx as a direct mirror of its deficit or surplus, respectively. If the government runs a surplus then entities outside the government are, on balance, giving it cash. That's like a bribe from foreign entities. But a deficit is like the government outlaying cash. This is necessary, btw, for the US dollar to be the defacto currency of the world. Believe me, if you want the US government to succeed or at least be stable then you want it to keep its status as the defacto world currency.
coliveira 9y ago
> Why shouldn't my generation decide "lets reduce the value of the dollar to 10% of it's current value You just rediscovered something that Marxists had concluded long ago: class wealth is a product of political control, not the other way around. If a class of people takes control of government, they can rewrite laws and the economic system to favor them, instead of the previous ruling class. That's the whole basis of the so-called "dictatorship of the proletariat".
renox 9y ago
> Why shouldn't my generation decide "lets reduce the value of the dollar to 10% of it's current value, and lets put a massive tax on assets to redistribute to working people Reducing th3 dollar's value will me1n that your imports will be ten times more expensive.. And for the tax, it will mean that all the people who can invest abroad instead of in the US will do it before the tax is applied..

SonOfKyuss 9y ago

> > I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, > Aren't they opposites? Not OP, but not necessarily. Basically, Libertarians strongly support civil liberties in many forms. That can mean supporting drug legalization (liberal) and also gun rights (conservative). It can also mean supporting an individual's right to discriminate in private business transactions (men's or all-white golf clubs, hetero-only bakeries) which would likely be viewed as a really conservative social stance. Many Libertarians also strongly support States' Rights, which tend to lean conservative.

TheRealDunkirk 9y ago

>> I lean conservative/libertarian on social issues, >Aren't they opposites? It's sad that everything about American politics casts every issue in black and white, either/or, polar-opposites mentality, and must be labelled. I was just trying to "get on paper" for context with my post. > Running a deficit is like borrowing to fund college. That may have been the most unfortunate example you could have used, since so many people are not seeing the value of their education in the marketplace pay off that investment in a reasonable period. Regardless, I understand what you're saying, but if you're trying to tell me that the deficit that the US federal government consistently runs is a planned, strategic effort, I'm not buying it. ;-)

Clubber 9y ago
It's not but keep in mind with no debt, there is no US treasury market. You have to have a little bit of it. Having said that, government debt is a little different from personal or business debt for a couple of major reasons: 1. Government's don't die. If they do, debt is the least of your worries. 2. Governments can control inflation and print money. Having said that, I'm not agreeing our amount of debt is good or even ok, it's just there are different things to consider and it isn't really analogous to personal or business debt.
ianai 9y ago
The government is either going to have a cash outlay or cash influx as a direct mirror of its deficit or surplus, respectively. If the government runs a surplus then entities outside the government are, on balance, giving it cash. That's like a bribe from foreign entities. But a deficit is like the government outlaying cash. This is necessary, btw, for the US dollar to be the defacto currency of the world. Believe me, if you want the US government to succeed or at least be stable then you want it to keep its status as the defacto world currency.

coliveira 9y ago

> Why shouldn't my generation decide "lets reduce the value of the dollar to 10% of it's current value You just rediscovered something that Marxists had concluded long ago: class wealth is a product of political control, not the other way around. If a class of people takes control of government, they can rewrite laws and the economic system to favor them, instead of the previous ruling class. That's the whole basis of the so-called "dictatorship of the proletariat".

renox 9y ago

> Why shouldn't my generation decide "lets reduce the value of the dollar to 10% of it's current value, and lets put a massive tax on assets to redistribute to working people Reducing th3 dollar's value will me1n that your imports will be ten times more expensive.. And for the tax, it will mean that all the people who can invest abroad instead of in the US will do it before the tax is applied..