this post was submitted on 07 Jun 2024
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[–] assassinatedbyCIA@lemmy.world 19 points 5 months ago (25 children)

Countries can print money. If the debt is denominated in your own currency you will never not be able to pay them.

[–] karashta@lemm.ee 13 points 5 months ago (8 children)

This.

More people need to understand that the debt of a sovereign nation isn't analogous to that of a household.

Public sector debt is private sector surplus.

[–] sockenklaus@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Public sector debt is private sector surplus.

Yes! This is the very essence of our monetary system that nobody seems to understand.

[–] karashta@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The other person who responded to me made a very all written post but it gets a core assumption completely wrong.

They seemed to think that tax revenue in some way has to happen for spending to happen. That's why they think GDP has anything to do with our ability to service debt. But the federal government creates money ex nihilo.

Money has to be created before it can be destroyed through taxation. Spending and back stopping creation of money by private banks through the reserve system comes first. You can't destroy something you haven't created.

It's sad, really. Economists and politicians have blinded everyone with what I think of as "the money delusion".

It doesn't matter if the money can be "gathered up" to be spent on things we need. We do not rely on the money of the wealthy. What matters is actual, real resources and services we can provide.

The national "debt" is a misnomer. That's the amount of dollars left in circulation that have not been destroyed through taxation, as well as the "dollars" that pay interest which we call bonds.

I'm glad to see at least a handful of other people who understand. Fight the good fight, fellow human.

[–] sockenklaus@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 months ago

They seemed to think that tax revenue in some way has to happen for spending to happen.

Noo!

But the federal government creates money ex nihilo.

Yes!

Money has to be created before it can be destroyed through taxation.

Yes!!

We do not rely on the money of the wealthy. What matters is actual, real resources and services we can provide.

Yes, yes and yes!! ❤️

Thanks for your concise explanation of MMT! I wouldn't be able to phrase it this well. ❤️

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