Not sure exactly where this came from. There are no signs of civil war. No fanatically opposing sides.
Yeah I heard that too. IIRC it costs more than five cent to produce a five cent coin because of the raising price of the nickel.
For some reason this thread reminds me of death/rape squads.
Understand that I do not call myself an economist.
Sovereign debt did not directly contribute to the current recession.
This one is all on the banks being dumb.
Of course, the banks being dumb caused the US government to be dumb and pull a trillion+ dollars out of thin air thus increasing the debt, so it is still somewhat related.
Why is the debt bad news? Well, think about credit card debt. I’m sure some of you or someone you know has lost alot because of it. This is what the US is doing, except on a scale that is pretty much unimaginable and with alot more guns.
One of these days that debt is going to be called in, and guess what? No one can pay it off. The citizens wont. The government wont. American allies wont. So what will happen? America will say “Hey you guys, I don’t really want to pay all of this back, so lets just forgive it and everything will be cool, alright?” Opposing countries will say “No. Give us our monies, or else.”
At this point one of two things happen. Uncle Sam bows his head and prostrates himself before the countries that are now much more powerful economically (unlikely) and the citizens of the country suffer a little. Or two, Uncle Sam goes to war and attempts to shoot his way out of the problem.
The citizens still suffer, but there is a small chance that the country could pull out of the conflict somewhat intact, and that will probably be enough for whomever is leading said nation.
So other than imminent world war, what else is bad about a huge amount of debt?
Countries will simply stop letting the United States borrow any more money. China did it for a little while. Other countries will join in. Soon the US government will no longer have a blank check to do whatever the hell they want.
The world is already on the verge of switching the primary currency of trade from American Dollars to something else (most bets are on the Euro). If countries stop lending to the US, than almost immediately afterward Oil and other goods will start being traded in a different currency. The value of the US dollar will plummet. Depression time.
I like how people think they can ban guns when it’s a frickin’ constitutional right.
And, hell, we haven’t been truly Capitalist since the New Deal.
fuckin’ liberals…
We’re not talking about gun rights in this topic, you idiot. Also, putting all of the blame on “teh fukin’ libruls” just shows how much of an idiot you are.
And for the record, I support the most basic for of gun control and that’s it.
So, you don’t know what true capitalism is?
I can’t believe how eager some of you are to see America collapse. I know there is a lot of people on the ‘I hate America’ bandwagon (more like a fucking train) but come on.
:s hrugs: Eh, it’s the internet. Everyone thinks they’re an anti-establishment poet.
I’m an antidisestablismentarian. Although I do find it very likely that the (current) US government is probably going to die or be revised. After all, it is the right of the people to, should the government cease to effectively serve it’s people, remove it’s power and rebuild it anew in such a way to better serve.
Paraphrased from one of them dar old documents from back in the good old 18th century.
Yes, the same one the gun nuts use against Obama (because they are so ascared about what will happen to their precious guns), which was also cited by many of the pro-Confederate states in the good old 19th century. 
Well, no. It costs a little more than 1 cent to produce a penny, so in the long run it costs more to produce pennies. The simple answer would be to stop making pennies.
And the cost of nickel is a non-issue, since 75% is copper. 25% is nickel which is bonded to the copper as a coating.
Yeah, pretty much what I thought. It follows, then, that paying it off isn’t a solution to our current problems either, even if it is good policy for different reasons. Fearmongering over the deficit doesn’t solve anything except getting conservative politicians elected (which is counterproductive because they historically increase the deficit).
You might want to read up on some current events re: the Euro. It’s status as a viable currency is hanging by a thread because of the impotence of EU monetary policy in crisis situations. At very least, it’s never going to be discussed seriously as a reserve currency.
So, you’re for a state-run church? What if the state decides to run the wrong kind of church?
I’m a disestablishmentarian. I think church and state should be separate; the state can’t tell the church what to do and the church can’t tell the state what to do. 
Here’s a fun little picture for you guys. I always laugh at Zimbabwe. I probably shouldn’t, but oh well.
A couple facts to add some context to the pretty picture, 1. the British have had as high as 200% debt-to-gdp in the past and 2. Canada is one of the countries least hard-hit by the current economic crisis and their debt-to-gdp is roughly equivalent to the US.
Here’s how I see debts and deficits:
You buy a house on credit. You’re immediately $150k in the red. You spend the next 30 years paying off that debt, spending your hard earned money to “dig yourself out”. And what do you have to show for it after you break even? Just about the best damned investment one can make.
Simply saying “debt” and “deficits” are “bad”, as a blanket statement, ignores a very basic fact:
Debt and deficits are, by themselves, amoral. They’re neither good nor bad. It’s what you DO with it that’s important. Spending $100k at a casino where you come out $100k in debt, that’s a bad investment because it provides no return in capital. Spending $100k on a 4-year college, however, that’s a great investment because it provides oodles of return in capital.
Simply screaming “DEBT!” sounds great on a bumper sticker. The real story is more complex.
Because that’s obviously what I was said :meh: