Re: Are liberals dumber than conservatives?

From: tonyp (tonyp_at_world.std.com)
Date: 09/01/04 

Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2004 00:33:15 -0400

"William F Hummel" <wfhummel@comcast.net> wrote

> Your proposal to privatize the debt, which I consider absurd as you
> know, all relates to government debt -- a basically financial matter.
> Government debt is several steps removed from private debt , which is
> what you are really thinking about when you say "debt" relates to real
> issues.

William, a favorite put-down of "absurd" ideas among scientists is to declare an
idea to be "not even wrong". Usually, this assessment is leveled (usually
justly) at such proposals as designs for perpetual motion machines. I am
prepared to believe that privatizing the national debt is one of those
not-even-wrong ideas in that it displays a complete misunderstanding of
fundamental concepts.

But if I misunderstand the concept of national debt the way a perpetual-motion
crakpot misunderstands the concept of entropy, you ought to be able to explain
something: what exactly would be the consequences of "privatizing the national
debt"? Would the Federal Reserve System, the Treasury, or the economy collapse?
If so, how?

If nothing dire resulted from such a misguided mixing-up of the wholly separate
concepts of private debt and government debt, would you still insist that those
concepts are really so separate?

-- Tony P.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: NBC: Generation Debt
    ... amount of accumulated public and private debt in November, ... the total amount of accumulated public and private debt today? ... The misery index (inflation rate plus unemployment ...
    (rec.music.artists.springsteen)
  • Re: For Trucker
    ... I think both national debt and private debt should be included in ... the gauging of economy. ... it does not need to have the government to BANKRUPT for the ... >National debt should not be equated to private debt. ...
    (sci.econ)
  • Re: NBC: Generation Debt
    ... amount of accumulated public and private debt in November, ... the total amount of accumulated public and private debt today? ... The misery index (inflation rate plus unemployment ...
    (rec.music.artists.springsteen)
  • Re: NBC: Generation Debt
    ... amount of accumulated public and private debt in November, ... the total amount of accumulated public and private debt today? ... The misery index (inflation rate plus unemployment ...
    (rec.music.artists.springsteen)
  • Re: Quantitative easing - where will the funds be injected?
    ... In effect they will be buying up government debt on which costs the ... by issuing new money. ... Bank now receives the interest. ...
    (uk.finance)