The national debt (John Oliver)

[PartySick 63,502]

Pretty interesting watch, even for those of us like myself who aren't crazy about economics

Tl;dw - debt isn't good or bad. What matters is whether or not that debt is an investment (education, medical care, infrastructure, etc) or a waste (Reagan tax cuts for the rich, Bush tax cuts for the rich, Trump tax cuts for the rich, exploding military budget, or endless wars).

Basically, whenever Republicans slam social programs for "eXpLoDiNg ThE dEbT", they're full of sh*t. 

[PartySick 63,502]

@Economy it's literally a law that you're tagged in every economics thread

[StarstruckIllusion 28,167]

4 minutes ago, PartySick said:

Pretty interesting watch, even for those of us like myself who aren't crazy about economics

Tl;dw - debt isn't good or bad. What matters is whether or not that debt is an investment (education, medical care, infrastructure, etc) or a waste (Reagan tax cuts for the rich, Bush tax cuts for the rich, Trump tax cuts for the rich, exploding military budget, or endless wars).

Basically, whenever Republicans slam social programs for "eXpLoDiNg ThE dEbT", they're full of sh*t. 

spill bestie

p.s. maybe you shouldn’t wait for a vaccine ma... all approved serve

[Batwings 12,061]

For someone like me who doesn't understand a lot of economics jargon, this was great because Oliver explains everything very effectively. 

Also, it's funny how Republicans were pretty quiet about the national debt when Donald was in office, but now, they're suddenly concerned again. 

[Fan Favorite 5,667]

The national debt is just a number. What matters is the amount of resources and man power. Big budgets are not proven to cause inflation so long as there is a potential in our economy to be unleashed, aka unemployed people, labor needed, services that can benefit a community, infrastructure lacking, population centers to be connected, etc etc

Keeping your population educated, skilled, and connected is the bread and butter of modern society and democracy. But here we are in 2021 with a president who essentially said “people like their insurance companies” and refuses to cancel student loan debt. 

Edited April 7 by E Z

[Economy 35,603]

11 hours ago, PartySick said:

@Economy it's literally a law that you're tagged in every economics thread

I cant comment on this video since "its not available in my country"

 

I will say that theres many philosophies and theories around debt and theres also extremes i dont agree with. Theres economists that make it sound like the sky is falling everytime a little debt is added while others seem to think theres no limit to how much u can add which i also dont agree with

 

To ur earlier comment, of course how well invested that debt is is a big variable in how well a nation will be able to sustain that debt. But no matter how well invested it is, too much debt can get problematic

Edited April 7 by Economy