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Sure, it can cause inflation, but it is incontrovertible that governments can always replay local currency debt by issuing currency (except the EURO, where prit

by asg 15y ago

Sure, it can cause inflation, but it is incontrovertible that governments can always replay local currency debt by issuing currency (except the EURO, where priting money has been offloaded to an external entity). Which is why sovereign debt in local currency is always the risk free credit, by definition. And the US is in the enviable position where, due to the nature of the dollar being the global reference currency, all (most?) of its debt is denominated USD. So I'm left puzzled at the recent debate about the US debt.

btilly 15y ago
In the USA the printing of currency has also been offloaded to an external entity (the Fed), and the amount of currency to circulate has been fixed by Congress. Thus while in theory it is possible to just print money, in practice it is a lot more difficult than that.
tlear 15y ago
Yes they can.. unless an angry mob whose life savings they just stole does not overthrow them. There are limits on how much you can do this and stay in power, they don't figure in the economics calculations but they do exist in real life.
- asg 15y ago
  Yes, in the long term, printing money will lead to an inflationary spiral. The expectation of that will cause higher interest rates. But the fact remains, that in an emergency, it is a possibility. And the possibility of creates greater safety/willingness to lend. Moody's in its latest assessment says: "The global role of the dollar, which underpins continued demand for U.S. dollar assets, .... provides unmatched access to financing, meaning that the U.S. government can support higher debt levels than other governments" http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/moodys-why-the-u-s-is-still-aaa/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/moodys-why-the-...
  - bubbleRefuge 15y ago
    You have to define what printing money means? The term doesn't apply to modern fiat money. And naturally I should define what modern fiat money is. But in a broad sense the government should continue issuing currency( by increasing spending -preferably on infrastructure- or reducing taxes) which increases aggregate demand until spare capacity ( which includes unemployment) is exhausted in the economy.
  - CWuestefeld 15y ago
    No, an increase in the money supply directly leads to inflation (other things being equal, notably the velocity of money). It's right there in the terminology: money supply. What happens when the quantity supplied of a good increases? With a constant quantity demanded, the price goes down. So it is here: if the quantity of money supplied increases, the value of that money decreases. Thus, paying one's debts with inflated currency means that you're giving yourself a discount off the amount you owed. And that creates lower safety/willingness to lend.

by asg 15y ago

btilly 15y ago

In the USA the printing of currency has also been offloaded to an external entity (the Fed), and the amount of currency to circulate has been fixed by Congress. Thus while in theory it is possible to just print money, in practice it is a lot more difficult than that.

tlear 15y ago

Yes they can.. unless an angry mob whose life savings they just stole does not overthrow them. There are limits on how much you can do this and stay in power, they don't figure in the economics calculations but they do exist in real life.

asg 15y ago
Yes, in the long term, printing money will lead to an inflationary spiral. The expectation of that will cause higher interest rates. But the fact remains, that in an emergency, it is a possibility. And the possibility of creates greater safety/willingness to lend. Moody's in its latest assessment says: "The global role of the dollar, which underpins continued demand for U.S. dollar assets, .... provides unmatched access to financing, meaning that the U.S. government can support higher debt levels than other governments" http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/moodys-why-the-u-s-is-still-aaa/ http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/moodys-why-the-...
- bubbleRefuge 15y ago
  You have to define what printing money means? The term doesn't apply to modern fiat money. And naturally I should define what modern fiat money is. But in a broad sense the government should continue issuing currency( by increasing spending -preferably on infrastructure- or reducing taxes) which increases aggregate demand until spare capacity ( which includes unemployment) is exhausted in the economy.
- CWuestefeld 15y ago
  No, an increase in the money supply directly leads to inflation (other things being equal, notably the velocity of money). It's right there in the terminology: money supply. What happens when the quantity supplied of a good increases? With a constant quantity demanded, the price goes down. So it is here: if the quantity of money supplied increases, the value of that money decreases. Thus, paying one's debts with inflated currency means that you're giving yourself a discount off the amount you owed. And that creates lower safety/willingness to lend.