

Nine deficit myths we can't afford - madair
http://www.newdeal20.org/2010/04/27/the-deficit-nine-myths-we-cant-afford-10162/

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pragmatic
"Myth #3: We are passing on debt to our grandchildren. Reality: Payments on
Treasury securities are a matter of data entry, not a financial burden."

I don't even know where to start with this.

"These things are admittedly hard to value precisely-but there can be no doubt
that our grandkids will be much better off having been born into a society
that has modern infrastructure and services that our government policies can
help to provide."

Not all debt goes to infrastructure that lasts 3 generations. In fact very
little investment lasts that long. That's why we have depreciation, all
capital wears outs (roads, bridges, etc).

When we make direct payments to individuals, financed by the tax payers and
those individuals buy things made over seas, we are doing a indirect wealth
transfer. That's why China holds so much of our debt. This money isn't just
owed to citizens, much of it is owed to foreign nations that expect to be paid
back.

See Charlie Munger's article: <http://www.slate.com/id/2245328>

We are performing a wealth transfer to Wall Street, Automakers and foreign
governments. This money will have to be paid back (or defaulted on, which
would be a mess) by tax payers at some point in time.

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madair
I posted this article because I wanted to hear smart responses backed by
informative sources and unclouded as much as possible by preconceptions. I'm
sad that this is none of those, including the article that you linked to,
pragmatic, written by Munger, part of the group known for its predatory
practices and idolized as the ideal of modern market manipulation.

Please please please try to respond based on reality, not the narrative of a
reactionary dogma (your response) or the narrative of entrenched forces tied
to the success of the current political, financial and regulatory systems
(Munger's editorial).

That said, it's quite interesting that you'd both tout an article by Munger
while decrying wealth transfer to Wall St. Which part of Munger == Wall St is
not completely clear to even the casual observer.

I would also like to point out that it's quite hard to deny that public works
projects of the past 80 years, yes 80, as in four generations, is a big part
of the success that is modern America. Sure you have to repair and upkeep
roads and bridges...but in the meantime those make you...guess
what...successful!

Anyone got some comments that aren't clouded by populist narratives? I want to
know more about the topics of this article, what are the truths and
exaggerations in it? I'm not equipped with the knowledge (yet) to parse this
stuff fully.

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madair
Also [http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/07/deficits-do-matter-
bu...](http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/07/deficits-do-matter-but-not-the-
way-you-think.html)

