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Don't they say the analogy between a person's and a government's debt doesn't work ?
by conradfr 14y ago
Don't they say the analogy between a person's and a government's debt doesn't work ?
- WalterBright 14y agoIf the government can print money, then yes, it is different, but only in that the government can keep printing more money rather than needing to convince lenders to loan it more. It can't change the fact that if you live beyond your means long enough, you run out of means one way or another.
- ajb 14y agoThe crucial difference is not the one about printing money. In a country of sufficient size, most of the economic activity is exchange within the country. This is not true of a family, so the math is not the same. In the case of a country, it becomes recursive and difficult to understand, hence all the arguments.