Bernie Sanders

[Orruar]

Originally Posted by Pokesan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I have neither the time nor the inclination to disabuse you of the notion that government debt is the same as kitchen table bill paying.

Learn what an analogy is. It doesn't mean two things are identical in every aspect, but it is a way of comparing similar aspects of two or more things. The ability to correctly apply and interpret analogies is one of the hallmarks of intelligence.

Originally Posted by Pokesan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Funny, GDP has grown just fine every year in the last ten, except for the 2008/2009 crash when it shrunk slightly.

GDP growth has been anemic for a recovery. After the giant dip we had in 2008/2009, it was expected a recovery would look like 4-5% for a couple years at least (previous recoveries were even stronger, with 4%+ for multiple years). The best year we've had since then is 2010 with 2.5% growth, and the average is under 2%. And even if you consider that "just fine" (pretty much no economist agrees with you), it still hasn't grown nearly as quickly as debt, which has nearly doubled in the same time that GDP has increased 20%. That's not sustainable, and I think you know this.

Originally Posted by Pokesan [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Maybe revenue is the issue and Bernie has the right goddamn idea - if we raise taxes, we won't have to borrow all that money you're so worried about paying interest on?

Isn't that the most elegant solution - increase government revenue so we won't have to 'waste money' on those pesky loans you're so frightened of?

And now you're deflecting from the original point. Remember that this was a discussion over whether we should have balanced budgets, and not an argument over how to achieve that goal. It now appears that you do believe in balanced budgets after all. I'm glad I was able to convince you of the wisdom of collecting enough money to cover what we're spending. Good discussion.