jganetsk

20 ms·

91.
The Natural Rate of Interest Is Zero (2004) [pdf](cfeps.org)
38 points by jganetsk 9y ago|56 comments
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Causality is backward here, really. Government debt and money are effectively the same thing. Growing government debt is growth in the money supply, which can lead to inflation. Governments don't try to devalue sovereign debt, they try
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by jganetsk 9y ago
The supply of money = government debt + private bank credit. So if the government runs a budget surplus or private bank credit shrinks (more old debts are paid off than new debts are issued) then the supply of money shrinks. This happens in
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by jganetsk 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_market_operation#United_S... They are mainly trying to control the size of bank reserves by buying and selling securities, with the goal of hitting a target interest rate. When they a
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by jganetsk 9y ago
- Default: Yes it can happen, but it's voluntary and done politically. It's not a technical requirement. The US government can always service the debt. Here's an article from the Economist, "Countries rarely default on t
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by jganetsk 9y ago
You are absolutely right, and you have discovered Modern Money Theory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEiNLmg2tYA
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by jganetsk 9y ago
It's a widely held misconception that the government needs to finance its spending. It doesn't. It just spends money into existence. Treasuries are a political constraint, not a technical one. Please read about Modern Money Theory
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Yes really. It's called modern money theory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDL4c8fMODk https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/opinion/deficit-tax-cuts-... The US federal government pa
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by jganetsk 9y ago
That's because the government's deficit is the people's surplus, by simple accounting identity. Paying off the debt would be catastrophic. Andrew Jackson did it, and 1 year later we had a financial crisis. Clinton gave us a s
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by jganetsk 9y ago
There are a lot of misconceptions about the nature of national debt. You should read about Modern Money Theory. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDL4c8fMODk https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/05/o
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by jganetsk 9y ago
It is backed by the fact there is plenty of demand for it. The demand comes from the fact that people need to attain bank credit to pay off their debts to the banks. This is very evident when you think of how banks used to work: they would
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Finacial liabilities of the Fed (physical currency and bank reserves) are financial assets in the private sector. Therefore, yes, debt = savings.
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by jganetsk 9y ago
> Would debt be immediately paid off though? Yes. We all know a lot of people with mortgages, student debt, and credit card debt, who if suddenly given a government handout that would double their savings, would immediately pay off their
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by jganetsk 9y ago
> Demand for dollars is (like anything) organic and capricious, but the supply is directly controlled by the Fed. This is actually wrong. Money really consists of 2 things: 1) Government debt 2) Private bank credit The Fed only controls
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by jganetsk 9y ago
The interpretation that banks distribute that money is wrong. Banks don't lend out reserves: https://www.kreditopferhilfe.net/docs/S_and_P__Repeat_After_...
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Distributing money to the economy = fiscal policy.
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Monetary policy is just not that effective, overall. The Fed is not putting money into anyone's hands. It's just making bank balance sheets replace higher-interest paying asserts (Treasury bonds) with lower-interest paying assets
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by jganetsk 9y ago
The idea that taxes create a demand for currency (and hence the value) is explored at depth in Modern Monetary Theory: http://neweconomicperspectives.org/2011/07/mmp-blog-8-taxes-...
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by jganetsk 9y ago
The gold standard doesn't work because it's deflationary. The Eurozone effectively functions as a gold standard. And now we are re-learning why the gold standard is bad when we look at the impact austerity has had on the Greek fin
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by jganetsk 9y ago
If they doubled money supply and distributed 1 for 1 to all current dollar holders, lots of debt would get immediately paid off. Unless you are also proposing doubling everyone's debts. But, if not, then this will cause "debt defl
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by jganetsk 9y ago
UBI is inflationary and discourages people from working. Economists have moved on to better ideas than UBI, like the federal government providing a JG (Job Guarantee) or being an ELR (Employer of Last Resort): https://www.thenati
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Also https://www.amazon.com/Math-Gene-Mathematical-Thinking-Evolv...
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by jganetsk 9y ago
We can analyze the effect of basic income using MMT, modern monetary theory. Every dollar spent by the government is a dollar in someone else's pocket. That dollar will be split and used in 3 ways: spending, taxation, saving. So here&#
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by jganetsk 9y ago
Have you tried light therapy? It's great. https://re-timer.com/
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by jganetsk 9y ago
He's right, but he's conflating 100% code coverage with using mocks with writing tests. Always write tests. And strive for maxmium coverage. But make sure you write the right kinds of tests: - Don't overuse mocks. Mocks don&#
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by jganetsk 9y ago
> I don't believe Basic Income would gain any traction in the US. The United States House of Representatives passed a Basic Income bill written by Richard Nixon in 1969. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vHYFzYvCak
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Why So Many Americans Are Saying Goodbye to Cities(theatlantic.com)
3 points by jganetsk 10y ago|0 comments
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by jganetsk 10y ago
Would you happen to be Douglas Rushkoff? He wrote a fantastic book about this. http://www.rushkoff.com/books/throwing-rocks-at-the-google-b...
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by jganetsk 10y ago
Don't ever talk to HR in a situation like this. HR is there for only one reason: to protect the company, NOT to protect you. If anything like this happens to you, lawyer up. Immediately.
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by jganetsk 10y ago
All people should have shares in companies that own robots. Or they should at least have a claim in the return on capital. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/basic-income-fu...

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