• hark@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    Slowly? Isn’t just the interest payment on the debt like $1 trillion a year now?

    • Revan343@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      That interest was totally manageable when America was the largest economy in the world and looking to stay that way. It’s the whole deliberately burning down the economy that’s the real issue

      • hark@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I wouldn’t say manageable, it was only a matter of time before the debt would topple over since it compounds. That’s just what happens with anything that has assumed infinite growth. Deliberately burning down the economy of course accelerates the collapse.

        • _stranger_@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          That’s not how the national debt works or ever worked. Every time someone tried to pay it off it was a massive disaster. Clinton’s administration managed to pass a balanced budget that had many tangible benefits and some disputed downsides, but bush easily destroyed that when he took office. FYI, the balanced budget under Clinton was the last time, and only the second time ever, that had been done. Oh, and they did it by raising taxes on the rich and cutting defense spending. Imagine that

          https://factually.co/fact-checks/politics/clinton-administration-budget-balance-dd9c9f

          • hark@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            I don’t understand what part you’re saying doesn’t work. Obviously paying down the debt doesn’t work if someone does the opposite right after, that’s true of everything.