DrALJONESJun 29

Poll No. 6 on US government finances

Please choose "True" or "False" for the following statement:

"As long as the US federal government keeps inflation under control, it can spend whatever it takes to meet people's basic needs."

True
75.9%
False
24.1%
Poll ended at .
Show threadKnut 🏳️‍🌈 🇳🇴🧸Jun 29
@DrALJONES I'm not sure that is overly wise. Spending more means an influx of capital in the market which increases inflation. We saw that during the pandemic with the TrumpBux(tm). It was already bad under Biden, but Trump accelerated it quicker by throwing money at the problem. We need to spend LESS on bullshit things (ie; the military) to put in people's hands to prevent even worse inflation. But, the GOP does love the taste of leather....so...
Show threadDrALJONESJun 30

@praetor

Did you miss the proviso? Controlled inflation

Govts can manage inflation by choosing when, where, & on what to spend.

Eg, feds could double social security payments (as in the pandemic), & recipients would put every extra $ back into the economy. In other words, not inflationary.

See, eg:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN12lOC5qGk 

PS pandemic inflation was supply related, not spending.

Why We Should Spend MORE to Fight Inflation

Briahna Joy Gray talks to economics professor Fadhel Kaboub about Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) and why, if the government spends strategically, it can actual...

YouTube
Show threadKnut 🏳️‍🌈 🇳🇴🧸Jun 30
@DrALJONES It was supply related. It was. But, I think that's only a part of it, just from what I've read, there are two to it. Influx of extra money into the market. And the Dems have done stimuluses (awkward), but not in sums of thousands. I think Obama, I got like $300, and got a cool iPod Nano, and so did the rest of the world, and you couldn't find 'em. So I think that's the second part with the supply issues during the pandemic. $300 = controlled. $2k - no controlled. You're not wrong.
Show threadDrALJONES

@praetor

Apologies, my post was unwarrantedly impatient.

Imo, the thing at the heart of the matter is that neoliberal govts know they can abolish poverty overnight without causing inflation, but, for them, the cruelty is the point.

In the absence of the threat of being thrown into the underclass, workers start agitating for a decent living wage, etc.

Jun 30 at 4:48amWeb