NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #19/NN_1992_19.iso/spool/sci/econ/7365

Internet Message Format | 1992-09-04 | 1.7 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!usna!potter
From: [e-mail] (Mr. Jeff Potter (CADIG  STAFF))
Newsgroups: sci.econ
Subject: Re: The Deficit as a Retrospective Tax
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 4 Sep 92 12:33:46 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
Lines: 32
Originator: potter@usna


   Satyen Baindur writes:

>If the government, let us say, in a Democratic Administration now
>said, heck no, that was a foolish thing to do, we don't owe you
>that money which should have been taxes anyway, what happens?

   First of all that is theft plain and simple. The government of
the United States cannot be considered above the law anymore than
any other business, corporation, or individual can. What kind of
an example would it set for anyone else were the government to
blatantly thumb its nose at creditors and refuse to pay debts? This
is the type of situation that leads to a centralization of power
(as if one didn't exist already). Just because the government
refuses to pay the deficit the debt does not vanish. The lenders
are still out billions of dollars! These transactions do not exist
in a vacuum. The money must come from somewhere...


>In other countries, the government meets deficits simply by
>printing more money...[deleted]

   And our government doesn't do this?! The U.S. treasury has been
off of the gold standard since our old buddy FDR instituted his
nefarious `New Deal' package, thus rendering paper money to be
just that - paper. Money without backing of value is just a piece
of paper - no matter what the government says. The US government
does the same old tricks of printing worthless money and selling
useless bonds to finance itself as other governments do.

  Jeff