Our whole monetary system is based on spending money we don’t have! Stop believing everything you hear by the chicken littles. China holds a very small portion of our overall debt. Heck, Japan holds more of our debt than China. Most debt is some form of securities, not foreign. Ultimately, I do agree the spending needs to slow but that is not how a Dem controlled House works or our goverment in general unfortunately.

You're correct.
Debt is a monetary tool.
But there is still such a thing as too much, and having too much can cause inflation.
This level of deficit creation during low unemployment is going to create inflation.  It has already raised interest rates.  
The political donor class mostly loves high interest rates; more of them live off the fat of the land.  The ones who over leverage themselves like Trump did are more rare.  Trump wants low interest rates.  The people above him want high.

It may in fact cause inflation but remains to be seen. I think we are still pretty early into the newer policies. The Feds just announced interest rates will remain and they plan on staying patient. Whatever that means in their world. I think we’ll be fine for a bit after this last correction as long as nothing stupid occurs geopolitically.

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But wait.  I thought those big tax cuts were going to fix the deficit.  What happened?

It’s called spending more than the revenue being brought in. Those tax cuts did in fact increase revenues but the federal budget is outpacing. Doubling Medicare/Medicaid in less than 10 years doesn’t help. The Dems control the house so we’ll see how spending goes. Hint...it isn’t going down!

The days of "liberal" and "conservative" being tied to spending habits are long gone. Republicans will spend a dollar just as quickly as the Democrats, they just won't spend it on the same thing. The language is adorable. They (all) "save" $X billion on one thing, "freeing up" $Y billion for another when neither of those billions was ever really there in the first place. Healthcare and defense spending are two of the most common places to hear about legislators not spending money they don't have on one thing so they can spend that same money on something else, and at the end of the day, we're still one collections call away from planting a Chinese flag in the White House lawn.

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It’s called spending more than the revenue being brought in. Those tax cuts did in fact increase revenues but the federal budget is outpacing. Doubling Medicare/Medicaid in less than 10 years doesn’t help. The Dems control the house so we’ll see how spending goes. Hint...it isn’t going down!

The days of "liberal" and "conservative" being tied to spending habits are long gone. Republicans will spend a dollar just as quickly as the Democrats, they just won't spend it on the same thing. The language is adorable. They (all) "save" $X billion on one thing, "freeing up" $Y billion for another when neither of those billions was ever really there in the first place. Healthcare and defense spending are two of the most common places to hear about legislators not spending money they don't have on one thing so they can spend that same money on something else, and at the end of the day, we're still one collections call away from planting a Chinese flag in the White House lawn.

I completely get that. It was moreso a rub towards those that latch debt solely to the POTUS and not Congress.

FYI, the China thing is a giant fallacy. Their economy banks on us having a stronger dollar. Calling in all debt at once would hurt them as much if not more than us. The world economy wouldn’t survive an economic collapse of both the US and China.

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One of the largest government wastes is baseline budgeting.  I've personally seen it for years (over 2 decades) and it's not going away.  I have personally witnessed military aircraft filling up with fuel and going over the Atlantic Ocean to dump enough to get back to base, fill up and go back out again.  I have also seen flights from Jacksonville to several destinations to do "touch and go's" just to burn fuel and use money.  The idea is "if you don't use all of the money allocated, you will be allocated less the next fiscal year".

That kind of thing not only happens in an aircraft squadron, it happens in offices, warehouses, etc..  So much money is wasted for no good reason other than if they don't use their allotted money during the current fiscal year they won't get as much allotted the next fiscal year.  It doesn't just happen in the military, it happens in all government offices including contractors.

Other useless and needless spending occurs for things such as global warming or "research" on things that don't matter.  These are things that the federal government spends money on that are not part of the Constitutional duties that they have sworn to do.

Cut the needless spending and the deficit will go down.

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There are 10 kinds of people in this world.  Those who understand binary and those who don't.

One of the largest government wastes is baseline budgeting.  I've personally seen it for years (over 2 decades) and it's not going away.  I have personally witnessed military aircraft filling up with fuel and going over the Atlantic Ocean to dump enough to get back to base, fill up and go back out again.  I have also seen flights from Jacksonville to several destinations to do "touch and go's" just to burn fuel and use money.  The idea is "if you don't use all of the money allocated, you will be allocated less the next fiscal year".

That kind of thing not only happens in an aircraft squadron, it happens in offices, warehouses, etc..  So much money is wasted for no good reason other than if they don't use their allotted money during the current fiscal year they won't get as much allotted the next fiscal year.  It doesn't just happen in the military, it happens in all government offices including contractors.

Other useless and needless spending occurs for things such as global warming or "research" on things that don't matter.  These are things that the federal government spends money on that are not part of the Constitutional duties that they have sworn to do.

Cut the needless spending and the deficit will go down.

I can't even argue with you about climate research because I'm too busy trying to find out how long shrimp can run on a treadmill.

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The debt is a serious problem. Politicians and voters need to get serious about finding ways to reduce it.

To add to the anecdotes here, when I was in the Marines, every year I'd go out and fire ammo for a week to use it all up. It didn't go bad, they just wanted to make sure they didn't lose that money in their annual budget. Literally, helicopters, tanks, heavy weaponry, you name it.... just burning millions of dollars so they can get it again. That system, along with the way bidding is done for federal contracts, needs to be completely re-examined.

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The debt is a serious problem. Politicians and voters need to get serious about finding ways to reduce it.

To add to the anecdotes here, when I was in the Marines, every year I'd go out and fire ammo for a week to use it all up. It didn't go bad, they just wanted to make sure they didn't lose that money in their annual budget. Literally, helicopters, tanks, heavy weaponry, you name it.... just burning millions of dollars so they can get it again. That system, along with the way bidding is done for federal contracts, needs to be completely re-examined.

In SOF we’d call that a training opportunity! But it really ramps up at the end of the FY.

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Not when you're in a massive hole of debt. You can't spend money you don't have. It's time to stop spending and assess the entire budget. Some things are gonna have to get cut or else this country is gonna get repossessed by the Chinese.

Our whole monetary system is based on spending money we don’t have! Stop believing everything you hear by the chicken littles. China holds a very small portion of our overall debt. Heck, Japan holds more of our debt than China. Most debt is some form of securities, not foreign. Ultimately, I do agree the spending needs to slow but that is not how a Dem controlled House works or our goverment in general unfortunately.

You do realize the Republicans controlled the House up until the very recent midterms? Blaming it on the Democrats isn't gonna fly this time. This most recent round of "out of control spending" occurred with the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and the White House. We had a surplus of money when Bill Clinton left office and every president since then, has been spending like crazy. It has to stop. 

Here is the article stating when we last had a balanced budget. 
https://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-bu...r-clinton/

On top of that, in 2016 we spent more on military funding,, than the next 8 countries combined. That is crazy! We need to take a serious look at cutting back on spending, particularly in these areas. I'm not talking about anything that puts soldiers in danger or effects their pay. I'm talking about completely wasted money for things we don't need or completely overspend on, due to certain military contracts which were given out in pretty shady ways. I truly believe we could cut the military budget significantly and still be the most funded and powerful military in the world and military personnel themselves, would not even notice a difference. As long as we have corrupt lobbyist and politicians connected to military contractors though, this will never happen.

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But wait.  I thought those big tax cuts were going to fix the deficit.  What happened?

It’s called spending more than the revenue being brought in. Those tax cuts did in fact increase revenues but the federal budget is outpacing. Doubling Medicare/Medicaid in less than 10 years doesn’t help. The Dems control the house so we’ll see how spending goes. Hint...it isn’t going down!

I don't think the tax cuts increased revenues at all.   Revenue in 2018 was barely more than revenue in 2017.  Barely.   

One of the main selling points for the tax cuts was that it would cause enough economic growth that the increase in tax revenues would cut the deficit.   It did not do that.  

We cannot cut the deficit without fixing spending, and no one seems to want to do that.  And as far as the dems controlling the house, the Republicans had a majority in both houses for the last 2 years.  

Trump promised to fix the deficit.  He's made it worse.

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You're correct.
Debt is a monetary tool.
But there is still such a thing as too much, and having too much can cause inflation.
This level of deficit creation during low unemployment is going to create inflation.  It has already raised interest rates.  
The political donor class mostly loves high interest rates; more of them live off the fat of the land.  The ones who over leverage themselves like Trump did are more rare.  Trump wants low interest rates.  The people above him want high.

It may in fact cause inflation but remains to be seen. I think we are still pretty early into the newer policies. The Feds just announced interest rates will remain and they plan on staying patient. Whatever that means in their world. I think we’ll be fine for a bit after this last correction as long as nothing stupid occurs geopolitically.

If you want to see how government debt causes inflation, look at Venezuela.   Out of control government spending had to be financed by printing money, and now as a result, they have hyperinflation.   Then they compounded it with price controls which led to shortages and starvation.  

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It’s called spending more than the revenue being brought in. Those tax cuts did in fact increase revenues but the federal budget is outpacing. Doubling Medicare/Medicaid in less than 10 years doesn’t help. The Dems control the house so we’ll see how spending goes. Hint...it isn’t going down!

I don't think the tax cuts increased revenues at all.   Revenue in 2018 was barely more than revenue in 2017.  Barely.   

One of the main selling points for the tax cuts was that it would cause enough economic growth that the increase in tax revenues would cut the deficit.   It did not do that.  

We cannot cut the deficit without fixing spending, and no one seems to want to do that.  And as far as the dems controlling the house, the Republicans had a majority in both houses for the last 2 years.  

Trump promised to fix the deficit.  He's made it worse.

So you're saying that taxes went down, we got very low unemployment, and government revenues went up? Perfect! That doesn't matter on the spending side at all, two different issues. Had we not cut taxes would the deficit be more or less now?

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

Debt is obsolete when you have 70 brand new fighter jets baby

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I don't think the tax cuts increased revenues at all.   Revenue in 2018 was barely more than revenue in 2017.  Barely.   

One of the main selling points for the tax cuts was that it would cause enough economic growth that the increase in tax revenues would cut the deficit.   It did not do that.  

We cannot cut the deficit without fixing spending, and no one seems to want to do that.  And as far as the dems controlling the house, the Republicans had a majority in both houses for the last 2 years.  

Trump promised to fix the deficit.  He's made it worse.

So you're saying that taxes went down, we got very low unemployment, and government revenues went up? Perfect! That doesn't matter on the spending side at all, two different issues. Had we not cut taxes would the deficit be more or less now?

Trump said he would fix the deficit.   He hasn't done it.   The deficit is much worse.   

Yes, he stimulated the economy.   We took the tax-cut drug, we all felt great.   It won't last.   Interest on the debt will eventually lead the government to take actions that will kill the economy.

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But wait.  I thought those big tax cuts were going to fix the deficit.  What happened?

So you're saying that taxes went down, we got very low unemployment, and government revenues went up? Perfect! That doesn't matter on the spending side at all, two different issues. Had we not cut taxes would the deficit be more or less now?

Trump said he would fix the deficit.   He hasn't done it.   The deficit is much worse.   

Yes, he stimulated the economy.   We took the tax-cut drug, we all felt great.   It won't last.   Interest on the debt will eventually lead the government to take actions that will kill the economy.

Everyone says they will fix the deficit. Trump is the only one you hold to that now? You can't fix the deficit. It is impossible.

The secret is to slowly buy gold and other precious metals with your greenbacks, that way you have something with spending power when the dollar goes belly up.

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It may in fact cause inflation but remains to be seen. I think we are still pretty early into the newer policies. The Feds just announced interest rates will remain and they plan on staying patient. Whatever that means in their world. I think we’ll be fine for a bit after this last correction as long as nothing stupid occurs geopolitically.

If you want to see how government debt causes inflation, look at Venezuela.   Out of control government spending had to be financed by printing money, and now as a result, they have hyperinflation.   Then they compounded it with price controls which led to shortages and starvation.  

Not a good example to parallel with the US. Oddly enough, China is the closest representation and even that is a somewhat flawed comparison.

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It may in fact cause inflation but remains to be seen. I think we are still pretty early into the newer policies. The Feds just announced interest rates will remain and they plan on staying patient. Whatever that means in their world. I think we’ll be fine for a bit after this last correction as long as nothing stupid occurs geopolitically.

If you want to see how government debt causes inflation, look at Venezuela.   Out of control government spending had to be financed by printing money, and now as a result, they have hyperinflation.   Then they compounded it with price controls which led to shortages and starvation.  

Venezuela has a few aggravating factors.
One is that the government puts arbitrary quotas on imports.  Lots of things become scarce that, by rights, should not be scarce.  The other is that they effectively have two currencies, the US dollar and their Bolivar.  The Bolivar is the one hyperinflating because everyone wants to be paid in dollars but many people are not paid in dollars.
They've made a lot of mistakes but these are not mistakes that the US is liable to imitate.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

TheO-LineMatters

Our whole monetary system is based on spending money we don’t have! Stop believing everything you hear by the chicken littles. China holds a very small portion of our overall debt. Heck, Japan holds more of our debt than China. Most debt is some form of securities, not foreign. Ultimately, I do agree the spending needs to slow but that is not how a Dem controlled House works or our goverment in general unfortunately.

You do realize the Republicans controlled the House up until the very recent midterms? Blaming it on the Democrats isn't gonna fly this time. This most recent round of "out of control spending" occurred with the Republicans controlling the House, the Senate and the White House. We had a surplus of money when Bill Clinton left office and every president since then, has been spending like crazy. It has to stop. 

Here is the article stating when we last had a balanced budget. 
https://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/the-bu...r-clinton/

On top of that, in 2016 we spent more on military funding,, than the next 8 countries combined. That is crazy! We need to take a serious look at cutting back on spending, particularly in these areas. I'm not talking about anything that puts soldiers in danger or effects their pay. I'm talking about completely wasted money for things we don't need or completely overspend on, due to certain military contracts which were given out in pretty shady ways. I truly believe we could cut the military budget significantly and still be the most funded and powerful military in the world and military personnel themselves, would not even notice a difference. As long as we have corrupt lobbyist and politicians connected to military contractors though, this will never happen.

It was a far different economy back then. The geopolitical climate was different. Times change. In any case, a balanced budget is not a true representation of a healthy economy. It’s a fiat system with strong global ties that quite frankly, rely on debt for its health. 

Not going to argue that there is or isn’t waste in the military. It suffers the same bloat at times as major corporations. What I will argue is that putting the military at the top of the list in any budget discussion is lazy. It’s always the low hanging fruit because of its size and misunderstanding of broad roles. When you are top dog, everyone is gunning for you. On your list of defense spending, how many of those countries fall under our defense umbrella? Willing to bet all but two. Most people would be amazed at how to spread out we are throughout the world conducting humanitarian missions and the like. Contrary to what many believe, we don’t sit around waiting for conflict.

Wonder why nobody bats an eye at the out of control Medicare/Medicaid spending instead of a constitutional entity? No doubt there is government fat to trim but it is not solely on our defense spending.

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TheO-LineMatters

Our whole monetary system is based on spending money we don’t have! Stop believing everything you hear by the chicken littles. China holds a very small portion of our overall debt. Heck, Japan holds more of our debt than China. Most debt is some form of securities, not foreign. Ultimately, I do agree the spending needs to slow but that is not how a Dem controlled House works or our goverment in general unfortunately.

Wonder why nobody bats an eye at the out of control Medicare/Medicaid spending instead of a constitutional entity? No doubt there is government fat to trim but it is not solely on our defense spending.

While the founders had a lot of wisdom on many subjects, we shouldn't base any specific decisions regarding military spending on writings from men who had never seen tanks, metal ships, or aircraft.  Neither should we base any specific decisions on health on writings by men for whom surgery with anesthesia was still a pie in the sky dream.

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My fellow southpaw Mark Brunell will probably always be my favorite Jaguar.

TheO-LineMatters

Wonder why nobody bats an eye at the out of control Medicare/Medicaid spending instead of a constitutional entity? No doubt there is government fat to trim but it is not solely on our defense spending.

While the founders had a lot of wisdom on many subjects, we shouldn't base any specific decisions regarding military spending on writings from men who had never seen tanks, metal ships, or aircraft.  Neither should we base any specific decisions on health on writings by men for whom surgery with anesthesia was still a pie in the sky dream.

I think you are trying to get down into the weeds by cherry picking words instead of taking it for what it is. But I would argue, making decisions while ignoring the founding documents is not how it is to be accomplished either. The defense budget can be reduced by simply eliminating/reducing OCO spending and other spending leftover from Bush and Obama War on Terror policies. As far as Medicaid/Medicare, I think we all know why that has outpaced most budgetary items and where the fat can be cut.

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It’s called spending more than the revenue being brought in. Those tax cuts did in fact increase revenues but the federal budget is outpacing. Doubling Medicare/Medicaid in less than 10 years doesn’t help. The Dems control the house so we’ll see how spending goes. Hint...it isn’t going down!

I don't think the tax cuts increased revenues at all.   Revenue in 2018 was barely more than revenue in 2017.  Barely.   

One of the main selling points for the tax cuts was that it would cause enough economic growth that the increase in tax revenues would cut the deficit.   It did not do that.  

We cannot cut the deficit without fixing spending, and no one seems to want to do that.  And as far as the dems controlling the house, the Republicans had a majority in both houses for the last 2 years.  

Trump promised to fix the deficit.  He's made it worse.

No, the claim by some supporters was that the effect of tax cuts would cover the loss in tax revenue from the cuts. Since there was not a revenue drop, that was true. The main purpose of the corporate tax cuts was to slow or stop the bleeding of industries moving to other countries, and had nothing to do with revenue. Because of that it was a worthwhile decision even if it caused a decrease in revenue. Corporations that moved to (say) Ireland would pay ZERO corporate taxes to the US government.

Note that many left wing economists (as well as the Congressional Budget Office) predicted that the tax cuts would hurt revenue. They were wrong.

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"Why should I give information to you when all you want to do is find something wrong with it?"