2 ms·
Is the USA flush with cash? Last I checked they were deep in debt and its getting worse
by bad_haircut72 2y ago
Is the USA flush with cash? Last I checked they were deep in debt and its getting worse
- lanstin 2y agoI think GDP/economic output/labor productivity continues to rise briskly. The government accounts are in debt because people in the US refuse to consistently vote for [people advocating] high enough taxes. But we could tax more (still less than Europe) and get balanced budget.
- scarab92 2y agoHigher taxes do genuinely restrict economic growth, so it's not like raising taxes is a magic bullet. Personally, I think there is plenty of grift and wasteful expenditure we could look at addressing first, especially within the healthcare and defense portfolios.
- lanstin 2y agoNot as much as having insufficient resources dedicated to the education of the young hurts economic growth (long term). I agree not using the world proven efficient healthcare strategy of universal coverage is pretty stupid economically, as is spending a trillion USD per annum on the military. But we are so rich these mistakes can be absorbed for surprisingly long.
- kortilla 2y agoThe US controls its currency and has no mandate for a balanced budget. So yes, the US is very flush with cash
- bawolff 2y agoAnd importantly enjoys a privleged position in the world economy that enables them to run these types of long term deficits with minimal negative consequences. Something which might shift over the coming decades.
- astrange 2y agoThose are the same thing. Higher public debt means there's more private credit available.
- impossiblefork 2y agoYes, but when you borrow, you have money in your hands. US firms are also very highly priced relative to their profits when compared to firms elsewhere. So while things are probably not quite sensible in the US there's still money.