<[email protected]> wrote: > I think the plan to have high government debt is just a way for the wealthy > to have another way to get surplus value from workers who pay taxes which > result in payment to bond holders.
How does this work? the way I can see it is if the government cuts programs that help the working class while raising taxes on the working class in order to pay the interest on the debt. That seems to be the trend. It's true that the existence of the government's debt usually leads to a redistribution upward, to the interest-earners. It also makes government officials more dependent on the kindness of _rentiers_ (or at least think that they are so). A socialist government (under capitalism) wouldn't run significant deficits and pile up debts, except perhaps to invest in infrastructure and the like. It's true that interest rates are likely going to rise in the future (since they're so low now) but to some extent the government has locked in low rates by issuing and selling long-term bonds. I'll have to check how much they've done that, but if they're smart this is the strategy they have followed. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
