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In the case of USA, the debt is Govt debt so it means Govt shutdowns cutbacks etc. Every other board in the house was burned for extra warmth. Now our economy

In the case of USA, the debt is Govt debt so it means Govt shutdowns cutbacks etc. Every other board in the house was burned for extra warmth. Now our economy is "service" based, I guess that is some sort of inter-generational joke where we are now expected to go "service" ourselves.

rsynnott 3y ago
Huh? In general when people die with net debts, it's not to the government; it's mortgages and other consumer debt.
- peteradio 3y ago
  I'm not saying Govt is inheriting personal debts. I'm saying the bigger issue is the Govt debt as a percentage of a largely bullshit economy.
roenxi 3y ago
Imagine the government prints the money and closes the debt that way. Nobody in the present has lost anything they can point to. They lost a promise which isn't worth much. The person who lent the capital could have bought something nice ... however many years ago. Today, they just have to recognise that they made a mistake many years ago. They gave a gift and mis-recorded it as an asset in their accounts. At this point, there isn't really a plausible path where the US debt gets paid down. The plausible path where they pay interest on the debt is also vanishing, 5% interest rates are overwhelming the ability of the US to pay. They are well on the path where even rolling over the principle will be infeasible. Anyone who believes it is a safe bet that they get paid back in real terms is rather optimistic, they're gambling. And in that environment, why should the inheritors of the debt play along in this silly game? They'll print and be done with it. Personal debt is also a non-issue, where I imagine it gets extinguished on death. There isn't really a path here where future generations get saddled with debt. The problem is they'll have a future where their parents didn't build enough infrastructure. I suppose the video might be about the UK, but the situation there would be largely similar to in the US, on a smaller scale. The problem is the lack of investment in the past, not the debt in the present.
- willcipriano 3y ago
  > Imagine the government prints the money and closes the debt that way. Nobody in the present has lost anything they can point to. Cool, why don't the boomers lead the way with this innovative plan while their retirement is on the line, instead of waiting to be clear of the blast zone?
  - roenxi 3y ago
    They are. Nobody is planning on paying the US debt back by repaying it, for example. That option has been all but officially ruled out. The printing is an ongoing thing.
ta1243 3y ago
The US governemnt currently "owes" $34,000 billion. Who specifically is relying on that debt being paid back? What will happen to them if they don't have that debt repaid? What will they do with that money if the debt is repaid?

rsynnott 3y ago

Huh? In general when people die with net debts, it's not to the government; it's mortgages and other consumer debt.

peteradio 3y ago
I'm not saying Govt is inheriting personal debts. I'm saying the bigger issue is the Govt debt as a percentage of a largely bullshit economy.

roenxi 3y ago

Imagine the government prints the money and closes the debt that way. Nobody in the present has lost anything they can point to. They lost a promise which isn't worth much. The person who lent the capital could have bought something nice ... however many years ago. Today, they just have to recognise that they made a mistake many years ago. They gave a gift and mis-recorded it as an asset in their accounts. At this point, there isn't really a plausible path where the US debt gets paid down. The plausible path where they pay interest on the debt is also vanishing, 5% interest rates are overwhelming the ability of the US to pay. They are well on the path where even rolling over the principle will be infeasible. Anyone who believes it is a safe bet that they get paid back in real terms is rather optimistic, they're gambling. And in that environment, why should the inheritors of the debt play along in this silly game? They'll print and be done with it. Personal debt is also a non-issue, where I imagine it gets extinguished on death. There isn't really a path here where future generations get saddled with debt. The problem is they'll have a future where their parents didn't build enough infrastructure. I suppose the video might be about the UK, but the situation there would be largely similar to in the US, on a smaller scale. The problem is the lack of investment in the past, not the debt in the present.

willcipriano 3y ago
> Imagine the government prints the money and closes the debt that way. Nobody in the present has lost anything they can point to. Cool, why don't the boomers lead the way with this innovative plan while their retirement is on the line, instead of waiting to be clear of the blast zone?
- roenxi 3y ago
  They are. Nobody is planning on paying the US debt back by repaying it, for example. That option has been all but officially ruled out. The printing is an ongoing thing.

ta1243 3y ago

The US governemnt currently "owes" $34,000 billion. Who specifically is relying on that debt being paid back? What will happen to them if they don't have that debt repaid? What will they do with that money if the debt is repaid?