6 ms·

This is nitpicking but it is not the government who pays, it is the taxpayers and in the end, every citizen. I think the distinction matters in this case.

• lkbm 4y ago
  How is that a distinction at all? What would it mean for the government, but not the taxpayers, to pay?
  • r00fus 4y ago
    Government can force others to pay like corporations or other countries (by threats).
  • pfortuny 4y ago
    I am just clarifying that the government does not own money. It just manages it. There was a famous intervention by the previous speaker of the house (Pelosi) saying “we are giving them our money”… That is why I started by saying “nitpicking” but in the end, it is the State’s money (or the taxpayers’, which is equivalent), not the Government. The government has no momey, it cannot pay anyone (in a Republic, mind you).
    • dermesser 4y ago
      This is backwards. The government created the money, it is us who need it (to pay taxes). The government doesn't need taxes, as it is the origin of the money.
      • pfortuny 4y ago
        Ouch, money existed long before the concepf of government did, really.
• dermesser 4y ago
  This is false, and doubly so in this case. There is no taxpayer money involved that would go missing elsewhere. Central bank money - which is free - is what props up the deal.