<p>Not being particularly well versed in economic theory, perhaps someone here can explain to me why reducing the deficit is so important.</p>
<p>Ah, we’re not discussing tax cuts but tax increases, unless like mini, you don’t think the deficit and being in hock to Chinese and Saudis matter. So who’s going to have to pay more?</p>
<p>^^ So you can buy more junks without being asked to pay old debts first.</p>
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<p>Think of it like personal finances. If you hit a rough patch for a few months you could pay for your day-to-day expenses using borrowed money. If you get back on track and pay off your debt then all is well in the long run. But if you keep going spending more than you bring in it won’t be long before you go under.</p>
<p>On the national scale, it’s that plus additional issues such as too much government debt devalues our currency.</p>
<p>Again not being well versed in these matters, I hear how bad our economy is. If it is so bad why would the Chinese or anybody else take on our debt??</p>
<p>rocketman08,</p>
<p>Usually, it’s the botton 5% who use the most services that pay nothing in income taxes. Services such as Medicare/Medicaid, food stamps, free lunches, schools, roads, etc plus they get tax credits and rebates.</p>
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Because if they stop, they will feel the pinch first. It’s a staring contest and a trainwreck in the making.</p>
<p>lol - this wonderful!</p>
<p>If you don’t want to be in “hock” to the Saudi’s, drill now in the US. You can’t use windmills to fly airplanes and drive cars. Also, windmills are not as enviromentally friendly, as you have been led to believe. I own land I can put a few windmills on but they dry out the soil and kill tons of birds. Solar is better but you can’t make plastics out of solar energy like you can oil.</p>
<p>So how is the US being in “hock” to the Saudis any different than me being in “hock” to a bank for a mortgage or Exxon being in “hock” to its shareholders? Are the Saudi’s losing money on this investment?</p>
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<p>Please enlighten me as to how a windmill ‘dries out the soil.’ They’re simply harvesting the energy in the wind that’s already there… not blowing new wind across the land.</p>
<p>Yes, they are as the dollar loses value. That’s why the US is terrified that the Saudis and Chinese will pull out their money. In some countries, the Euro is gaining ground on the US dollar as the trading currency.</p>
<p>^Read the studies regarding the soil physics and windmills. They can make the land unusable. Windmills also kill birds. Look at why they didn’t want them in Mass.</p>
<p>I doubt the dollar is going to lose any more value. It will trade up vs the Euro and is one of the reasons that oil has dropped to $121 a barrel. Currencies are like any commodity they go up and they go down over the years.</p>
<p>I hope you’re right. In the meantime, the PRC and Saudi Arabia can indulge in a bit of saber rattling.</p>
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<p>Of course, I don’t think what I wrote disagrees with that. </p>
<p>We already live in a system where some people (higher earners) contribute a lot more to the ‘pot’ than most people. To a certain extent that’s fine, but as the dinner example highlights you can only ask people to give so much before it backfires and, arguably, becomes simply unfair. The problem now is not that the pot’s not big enough, but that we’re not using the resources in the pot to their full potential. </p>
<p>Those who earn more are an easy target (often due to plain old envy and jealousy), but remember higher earners are already paying much much more into the system than everyone else even though they generally get the least out of it in return in terms of direct benefit.</p>
<p>The weak dollar has boosted our exports, and have forced more companies to re-think outsourcing jobs.</p>
<p>What kind of saber rattling are you referring to?</p>
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<p>They don’t want them in Mass because it will spoil the view from their beach-front homes on the cape and islands… although that’s masked by a lot of other excuses.</p>
<p>rocketman08,</p>
<p>Our resources/taxes are being wasted in many ways. We are now taxed from the time we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night, and the government waste our hard earned money.</p>