4 ms·

It has been suggested, before we got into the current bailout boondoggle anyway, that the US government could extinguish its debts and past entitlement promises

by tc 18y ago

It has been suggested, before we got into the current bailout boondoggle anyway, that the US government could extinguish its debts and past entitlement promises by simply selling off the western states. With an accrual-basis calculated debt rising towards $60 T and real estate prices dropping, it's an open question of whether even this would still be sufficient.

deleted 18y ago
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DanielBMarkham 18y ago
I'm afraid that with a political system that encourages something-for-nothing and zero-pain benefits, the idea of selling something of value to pay for national debt is a complete non-starter.
- gibsonf1 18y ago
  This is the big question I've been pondering lately: will this economic madness create an inflection point in American cultural/political values leading to the idea that you can't spend more than you have? Clearly Washington has no plans to change yet: will the US have to go bankrupt before the lesson is learned?
  - Brushfire 18y ago
    This is a very big problem to address -- the idea of excessive consumerism is so deeply embedded into our social structure and mentality that it is hard to get away from even when you are conscious of it. I drive a car made in 2002, which is kind of beat up (people hit me in parking lots and I dont repair dings/dents). The engine is working perfectly. But I regularly get comments from people asking me if I'm shopping for new cars. Its such a sin in some circles to have a 4+ year old car that these people think they are doing me a favor by reminding me its time to upgrade. America is going to have to really come to a point of real peril before the attitudes of most people will switch. The good news, I suppose, is that if we arent there now, we will be soon.
    - DanielBMarkham 18y ago
      Consumerism -- trading money for bigger and better things you probably don't need -- isn't that bad. What's bad is that politically we want things without having to trade anything at all for it. This leads to the attitude that the only reason we don't have things is because we haven't legislated it. Not a good thing.

by tc 18y ago

deleted 18y ago

[deleted]

DanielBMarkham 18y ago

I'm afraid that with a political system that encourages something-for-nothing and zero-pain benefits, the idea of selling something of value to pay for national debt is a complete non-starter.

gibsonf1 18y ago
This is the big question I've been pondering lately: will this economic madness create an inflection point in American cultural/political values leading to the idea that you can't spend more than you have? Clearly Washington has no plans to change yet: will the US have to go bankrupt before the lesson is learned?
- Brushfire 18y ago
  This is a very big problem to address -- the idea of excessive consumerism is so deeply embedded into our social structure and mentality that it is hard to get away from even when you are conscious of it. I drive a car made in 2002, which is kind of beat up (people hit me in parking lots and I dont repair dings/dents). The engine is working perfectly. But I regularly get comments from people asking me if I'm shopping for new cars. Its such a sin in some circles to have a 4+ year old car that these people think they are doing me a favor by reminding me its time to upgrade. America is going to have to really come to a point of real peril before the attitudes of most people will switch. The good news, I suppose, is that if we arent there now, we will be soon.
  - DanielBMarkham 18y ago
    Consumerism -- trading money for bigger and better things you probably don't need -- isn't that bad. What's bad is that politically we want things without having to trade anything at all for it. This leads to the attitude that the only reason we don't have things is because we haven't legislated it. Not a good thing.