The Treaty of Versailles debt represented "war reparations" imposed on the losers by the winners. It was basically stupid of the winners to impose all that, because Germany could never pay, so they essentially defaulted it.

I'm not sufficiently qualified to comment much on the causes/reasons for all the antisemitism that has existed for all of history, and I've never heard that Hitler blamed the Jews for losing WWI, altho I'd neere say he didn't.

However, back to financing budget deficits by monetary inflation, there is no debt involved in the creation of money out of thin air.

The alternative to monetary inflation as a means of financing budget deficits (borrowing from individuals or foreign govt's) does indeed involve debt, which has to be repaid or defaulted, plus interest which has to be paid by American taxpayers, but currency inflation is not debt in any normal sense.

i appreciate your argument, as it forces me to be more precise in my language, but you're incorrect about my economics knowledge and you're showing that you don't know the history (hey old timer, weren't you there?). the debt that caused the holocaust was due to the treaty of versailles at the end of the great war. if not for the debt, there'd have been no need for the money to be printed in the first place. furthermore, a large part of the nazi narrative was that the war loss and the treaty (and therefore the debt as well) occurred due to a betrayal by german jews. that narrative existed prior to the hyperinflation, but was certainly strengthened by it. If you're not in the mood to stipulate, i'll gather up some of the mountain of evidence to that effect. no, it certainly wasn't the only cause of the holocaust, but it was absolutely one of the main causes.

the united states currently has a debt of over 28 trillion (about ten times what it was in 1990 and five times what it was in 2000). Financing this debt costs almost ten percent of our nation's revenue. you're right that i improperly conflated cause and effect, but the two are inexorably linked.

JL

There are two ways to finance a fiscal deficit. Monetary inflation (defined as raising the ratio of money in circulation to goods and services in the marketplace) is one of those two ways, but it does NOT involve 'debt', because it does not involve borrowing, AND it will therefore never need to be 'repaid'.

Your claim that monetary inflation "caused the holocaust", and played a role in causing the German people to buy into the notion that Jews caused all their problems, is a real stretch, and subject to debate, and is an indication of economics naivete on your part.

I'd love to believe that, but we're in trouble already. There ain't no "debt" involved in financing with Fed Res monetary inflation money.

i think you'll find us very knowledgeable about debt and inflation.

Regardless of what 'gets done', I'm betting the revenue will be "raised" on the back of the Fed Res Bank's balance sheet - (i.e., created out of thin air.)

There are inevitable consequences that flow from that system, probably too complicated for this audience to worry about.

How's everybody feeling about Darth Cheney's daughter and her truth, justice, and the American way project today?

Those are some disappointing word choices Chris. C'mon man.

Hopefully Joe Manchin will agree, and get on board.

He's not an idiot. He understands the GQP as well as we do. It'd be just as easy for him to join them and make his life easier and his seat more secure.