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I usually respect Falkvinge but this is pure uncut bullshit. First the status of US as a superpower is much better guaranteed from the couple of thousand nukes

I usually respect Falkvinge but this is pure uncut bullshit. First the status of US as a superpower is much better guaranteed from the couple of thousand nukes and a couple dozen of carriers etc ... even in the case of total economic collapse the military might alone will be enough to allow the US to have strong word in the world affairs. The fact the US have no trouble selling its debt at negative real interest rates means not that US is borrowing too much but that it is not borrowing nearly enough concerning the people that want to be US creditors. Us is also one of the main centers of IT research, development and production. Just forbidding Intel and AMD to sell chips to some country can harm it a lot. Krugman calculated that the benefit of USD being a world reserve currency is roughly 300 billion USD per year - not a pocket change but hardly a game breaking amount.

bwb 13y ago
I second the "pure uncut bullshit" vote above.
contingencies 13y ago
Err, not uncut bullshit. 4 billion dollars increased debt per day was the figure I read last week. (Edit: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ claims 2.7 billion dollars increase per day. Anyway, it's huge. It's not bullshit. Treasury source @ http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debtposactrpt_0413.pdf http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debtposactr...)
- venomsnake 13y ago
  And the universe is losing stars on the rate of 30 supernovas per second. Should we create a action group for star preservation? A big number means nothing until putted in context. 4 billion per day gives a trillion and a half per year. Also known as half the us health spending for the same year. Or 10% US GDP. While this may be troubling in other situations - in the current situation due to inflation the us will surely pay less than the amount borrowed in real terms. So this works to reduce the debt if measured in "goods and services" metric. And if US gets in deflation spiral the debt will be the least of the worries. While the interest on the debt is lower than the Fed target inflation rate there is nothing to worry about.
  - contingencies 13y ago
    Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/us-usa-debt-bondholders-idUSTRE75718320110608 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/us-usa-debt-bondho... "It has dire implications for the economy at a time when the macro data is softening," said Ben Westmore, a commodities economist at National Australia Bank CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100388142 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100388142 "The minute we default, there would be a complete collapse in the bond market," said Peter Schiff, chief executive officer of Euro Pacific Capital and a critic of U.S. government spending habits. That would leave the U.S. struggling to refinance more than $4.6 trillion that come due within two years, including $3 trillion of Treasurys due to mature in 2013. The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/h/267205/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/h/267205... This story has three possible endings. Either Congress lifts the debt ceiling, and we all live happily ever after, at least until the upcoming battle over the continuing resolutions; or Congress doesn't, and we only get a massive dose of austerity; or Congress doesn't, we get a massive dose of austerity, and then we default, with interest rates shooting up and the financial system melting down. This shouldn't be a difficult choose-your-own-fiscal-adventure. Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/igorgreenwald/2013/01/09/why-the-debt-default-is-coming/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/igorgreenwald/2013/01/09/why-the... Welcome to the permanent crisis. It’s the only way our increasingly dysfunctional government can get things done.

bwb 13y ago

I second the "pure uncut bullshit" vote above.

contingencies 13y ago

Err, not uncut bullshit. 4 billion dollars increased debt per day was the figure I read last week. (Edit: http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ claims 2.7 billion dollars increase per day. Anyway, it's huge. It's not bullshit. Treasury source @ http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debtposactrpt_0413.pdf http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/pd_debtposactr...)

venomsnake 13y ago
And the universe is losing stars on the rate of 30 supernovas per second. Should we create a action group for star preservation? A big number means nothing until putted in context. 4 billion per day gives a trillion and a half per year. Also known as half the us health spending for the same year. Or 10% US GDP. While this may be troubling in other situations - in the current situation due to inflation the us will surely pay less than the amount borrowed in real terms. So this works to reduce the debt if measured in "goods and services" metric. And if US gets in deflation spiral the debt will be the least of the worries. While the interest on the debt is lower than the Fed target inflation rate there is nothing to worry about.
- contingencies 13y ago
  Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/us-usa-debt-bondholders-idUSTRE75718320110608 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/08/us-usa-debt-bondho... "It has dire implications for the economy at a time when the macro data is softening," said Ben Westmore, a commodities economist at National Australia Bank CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100388142 http://www.cnbc.com/id/100388142 "The minute we default, there would be a complete collapse in the bond market," said Peter Schiff, chief executive officer of Euro Pacific Capital and a critic of U.S. government spending habits. That would leave the U.S. struggling to refinance more than $4.6 trillion that come due within two years, including $3 trillion of Treasurys due to mature in 2013. The Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/h/267205/ http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/01/h/267205... This story has three possible endings. Either Congress lifts the debt ceiling, and we all live happily ever after, at least until the upcoming battle over the continuing resolutions; or Congress doesn't, and we only get a massive dose of austerity; or Congress doesn't, we get a massive dose of austerity, and then we default, with interest rates shooting up and the financial system melting down. This shouldn't be a difficult choose-your-own-fiscal-adventure. Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/igorgreenwald/2013/01/09/why-the-debt-default-is-coming/ http://www.forbes.com/sites/igorgreenwald/2013/01/09/why-the... Welcome to the permanent crisis. It’s the only way our increasingly dysfunctional government can get things done.