3 ms·
Can you elaborate why you say getting into debt "is the right thing to do"? Why do you think it's unreasonable to reduce spending when tax collection goes down?
by psranga 17y ago
Can you elaborate why you say getting into debt "is the right thing to do"? Why do you think it's unreasonable to reduce spending when tax collection goes down?
Personally, I find the parent's commonsensical prescription appealing. The parent probably meant was that if govt gets into debt, "higher and more ubiquitous taxes" will have to collected in the future to pay for the debt.
- natrius 17y agoIncreasing public spending when private spending goes down in a recession is kind of what Keynesian economics is all about. Higher taxes may be necessary in the future, but the idea is that private spending returns faster than it would otherwise, thereby increasing government revenue. Cutting public spending would reduce private incomes, which would exacerbate the recession and lower government revenue even further. If the idea was to start a discussion about whether the Keynesian response to recessions is a good idea, I don't think that's going to be worthwhile unless there are some economics Ph.D.s around. It's an interesting topic, but something about the internet makes people overly confident in their uninformed opinions.
- aquateen 17y agoGoogle "paradox of thrift."