From: Adrian Tymes (wingcat@pacbell.net)
Date: Wed Jun 11 2003 - 13:24:56 MDT
--- BillK <bill@wkidston.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
> Why not invest for income?
>
> You should be able to get 5% return.
Ironically, the original question was dealing with US
government money - and one problem they face is a
mounting debt, caused by chronic failure to spend
less than they take in, in turn caused by the constant
appeal to lawmakers of passing popular legislation
that only the people after them would have to pay for.
(Getting services is popular. Paying for them isn't.
They prefer to get the former without the latter.
Doesn't matter that it's irresponsible: they do it on
a regular basis.) Indeed, debt payments currently
account for a large percent of the budget, and this is
expected to rise. (Some speculate that one reason for
a revolution might simply be to invalidate the old
government's debts, without any real change in
political structure except as the resulting economics
changes things. For instance, Social Security
accounts wiped out would mean a lot of - historically
politically active - senior citizens suddenly become
more desparate for financial support.)
$200 billion would not pay off the entire US debt, but
neither would it be a totally insignificant fraction
thereof.
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