Deficit, Deficit, Deficit.

Question of the day: "How would you fix the economy? Three solutions or less."
Surveying around with this, I discovered a startling disparity.
The most common answer, among my subjects, was "Pay off the deficit, with the money from (A) and (B)." Sounds like sound logic, but as we went point for point, I got a feeling:
Me: "So, this 'deficit': How will paying it effect the economy?"
Accostee: "It will reduce the national debt." (Big grin)
Me, flippant: "How is the national debt more important than wages and entrepreneurship?"
Retort: "It allows the government to lower taxes. Lower taxes means more money for the citizens."
Me, inquisitive: "How?"
Annoyed: "If we are in less debt, than we can use the extra to fund other programs"
Me, factual: "So, by paying our multi-trillion dollar bill...overnight... we will free up money for tax cuts...overnight."
Angered: "NO! But America needs to pay off the debt."
Me: "Why?"
Condescending: "Debt is...bad."
Me: "What practical effect does this imaginary number have on the populace? Why does increasing expenditure to foreign powers take priority over social and economic programs to aid your own countrymen?"
Victim: "(Calls me a communist)"


Again and again. It could be my location, but from self proclaimed "Democrats", "Republicans" and "independents" alike, I get the same hollow sounding retorts. It's bloody frustrating.

So, I ask you now: What does a federal deficit...DO? What is it backed by? Why is paying more than the prescribed annual amount so important? Can we have a new term for the trade deficit? (shit's confusing) And, why are we so obsessed with this imaginary number than the people starving in the streets?

I've no desire to talk about the deficit. What I am actually concerned about is people starving on the street. That's just fucking horrible, isn't it?

The trade deficit has less to do with out economy, and more to do with what control other countries have over us DUE to the debt to them.

Such as China. The more in debt we become to them, the more they control us.

But no, it does not have this magical fix on out economy and such and it is never the reason our economy turns bad.

Umm what? Are you saying that debt is just an imaginary number to people? And there lies your problem America. You're run by credit cash and not direct cash. You can't just borrow money and not pay it back.

So basically America gogo make more wars because you seem awfully good at doing that.

I remember during the time of Alexander Hamilton, the government had such a surplus in funds that they promoted debt.

The entire world uses the fractional reserve system, and all international debt exists in a digital medium. We didn't go and borrow hard cash from the Chinese (among others) that we then converted into USD.

Only if you'll come fight it with us.

I'm well aware of this but it still has no relevance? OP is saying that debt is superficial.

It is *not* superficial. In fact, fractional reserve banking is at the heart of the problem. Worldwide debt exist because money is created through fractional reserve banking. The debt is not crucial *precisely* because it's not a natural consequence of capitalistic enterprise, but because money creation was privatized.

If the government could create money without interest on it, a lot of things would be different. Yes, inflation would still exist, but even with "expert, privatized" control it's still a problem contrary to all the propaganda that was used to push for private banking in the first place.

[size=1]Blah blah. intelligence is over rated. blah blah.[/h]

The National Debt is right around 14 trillion. In terms of currency, that kind of number doesn't even exist. The amount of money in circulation around the world barely exceeds 1 trillion USD.

This question has no solution. The debt will never decrease, only increase.

You realize that you just made that up right? The USA GDP is about 14 trillion USD and the world's GDP is roundabout 60 trillion USD. Theoretically, if the USA didn't spend any money at all for a year, then we could pay off the debt entirely, but that is massively implausible.

The question does have a solution, but it is complex and long term and most people don't have that sort of attention span, even when the issue doesn't directly effect them. The debt is a problem because the more debt we have, the less free we are to spend on things that really matter, such as those benefits for the unemployed that everyone keeps mentioning. It's also, as Flaser said, a power problem. As we get further and further into debt, our periodic payments to other countries increase, thus giving them more power over us, which is kind of a big deal to the US.

The debt is kind of an abstract thought to many americans along the lines of "This thing is bad, get rid of it" but there are very few people with the patience to think up or carry out a reasonable plan of action against it.

ONE HUGE PROBLEM with the US is also that politics plays a larger part in our government than actual governing. A president wants to get re-elected so that he can continue carrying out his agenda, but people aren't interested in reasonable, long term solutions, they want results that they can see, and that effect them immediately, or as far as they are concerned, the Gov't failed them. This is why you hear so much noise about the debt without plans or rationales offered, because they want to make the appearance of doing something about it, but since nobody really knows much about the real problems of the issue, they are content with half-commitments and vague promises.

That is a summary of my feelings on the debt.

My fault, I didn't do much research on this subject. I've only learned whatever I picked up from the news(and that"s never a reliable source). This matter usually pisses me off to much for me to even think strait about it. Usually I would ignore a "Wall Of Text", but yours made to much sense to not read.

I think that we should not give the rich tax cuts to large companies that manufactor outside of the United States, in fact we should increase taxes on them so that they would be forced to leave or raise their prices, Soon it would be cheaper for people to manufactor things in the good ole USA, we should lower taxes on small businesses and raise minimum wage, and make medical benefits required depending on the size of the business. People take to many loans from the bank and it's becoming a relationship were they basically extort us with other people's money, and i think banks should not be privatized, to a certain extent. I also don't see why we can't socialize the banking system a little so that the government could make money off of interest rates that the country agrees on? Why do Americans hate the whole idea of socialism and anything dealing with it?

I take that back, when we don't call it socialism it's okay. Like taxing foreign countries for bring goods in, or giving massive cuts and loans to failing companies when we could use this time as an oppurtunity to crush the sick hold of walmart, china, and others, and re-industrializing America.

Sorry if i sound stupid or long winded i can't help being weird

This 'depression' is simply a natural cycle of the worlds economy, caused by bankers and other powerful individuals withholding large sums of money from varying country economies. As a country that relies on importing a large portion of their consumer goods, it is only completely understandable that you suffer among the worst. Abolish fractional loan banking and revert to the greenback system. Allow your government more control over corporations and banks. Freedom is great, but too little regulation only causes chaos and promotes monopolies.