So parts of this I agree with and have been calling for a while:
- Cut the spending at each department
- Reduce the Federal headcount
- Eliminate the deficit
However…we aren’t going to end inflation tomorrow. Argentina was a complete train wreck with triple-digit inflation.
The big problem is people have spent their pandemic savings and are running up their credit cards, if inflation continues a lot of people are going to be really screwed.
Cutting welfare and free handouts would reduce inflation and cut the deficit.
There is extra demand for everyday survival goods because we are importing millions of “newcomers”. If you take these millions out of the mix, the demand for food, shelter, and other survival goods will significantly decrease. The poorest folks are in direct competition with these newcomers for jobs, shelter, and food. I heard a story on NPR the other day where mexican american men are fed up with the newcomers as they are competing for their jobs.
The government overspending by $10 BILLION every day is crating artificial demand and fueling inflation.
Unfortunately, continued inflation is the only way that the feds can ever hope to pay down the national debt, should they actually choose to do so (paying it off will never be an option or even possible). Even more unfortunate, inflation may become the only way that the feds can even pay the annual interest on the national debt.
I am beginning to wonder., where is the mark of demarcation?
At what point does Congress and the President decide “fuck it” and just wipe the debt and start from scratch?
This sounds crazy, but that may end up being the only real solution.
If that could be done I’m sure it would have happened. People are owed the money that the government borrowed and if they just print $34 trillion it would send the economy into a meltdown.
If that were done it would be catastrophic, but as of now we are dying a death of a million (trillion) cuts. Eventually someone might kill the whole thing.
I don’t think there is one. I think Congress will continue to spend more money than they have, until they can’t and/or another currency replaces the dollar as the international reserve currency. If that happens, other countries will buy the debt of the other country and interest rates on new US debt will increase (which will also decrease the value of already issued debt). I have no idea what the chance of that happening, or when, might be. Congress has a poor record of addressing problems in advance of a serious need for a solution, and would rather keep spending and solving problems that don’t need a legislative solution.
There is nothing in current law allowing the US to declare national bankruptcy, but that won’t happen so long as the US can continue to print money it doesn’t have and we can sell our debt at an affordable interest rate. I think there is a real risk that if we continue to incur debt and spend that money as fast as it comes in, then see the first paragraph.
I agree. A good place to start is to drastically reduce spending on crap we don’t need.
First, cut government spending dramatically — in every agency and department across the board. Start with a 15% cut on Day 1 — across the board everywhere, except military spending.
The author never seems to explain why military spending would be exempt from cuts. I guess because he expects World War III, which I guess is going to make the price of gasoline for our cars to go skyrocket.
You could zero out military spending and still run a deficit.
We are paying more interest on the debt every year than we spend on the military.
Oh…so that’s why it’s untouchable. Why would he specifically exclude the military?
He also says
At the same time, cut government employees and bureaucrats. Start with firing 15% of all federal employees. At the end of six months, fire another 15%.
I’m assuming that this also excludes the military who, the last I checked, were federal employees.
If the guy is young, how does he explain to his parents why their social security and Medicare are gone?
I don’t think it is.
But I literally knew you were going to post this before you posted it.
I wouldn’t have had he not specifically made military spending exempt from cuts.
Because it’s in the Constitution.
We can’t be like the student loan borrowers and demand that it get wiped out. There are other countries that hold our debt…not just the Fed.