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Politics : Al Gore vs George Bush: the moderate's perspective -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Harvey Allen who wrote (4630)	11/3/2000 8:25:43 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10042

Well, you go and read Martin Gross article about how much of the actual US debt has been repaid over the past two years. We've been running surpluses for several years now and the national debt HAS INCREASED. The clue is that Social Security Trust Fund money HAS TO BE DEPOSITED in Government debt (T-Bills), and the cash is applied to the general budget giving politicians more money to spend and building up obligations out into the future. Thus, the very fact that the surplus being parked in T-Bills is actually increasing the national debt is the paradox that neither side truly wishes to discuss since it would undermine confidence in the entire system. The government is VERY LIMITED as to how much debt it can actually buy back without distorting the debt markets. If it buys back too much government debt, it will bias investors against commercial debt which is considered "less safe" than T-Bills. Considering that swap spreads are at levels that haven't existed since the Asian collapse in Oct, 1998, the last thing anyone wants to do is make the US dollar even stronger and cause a flight of capital to US government securities. It would just be better if the government prudently paid back debt during times when the dollar is under threat, and applied the rest to tax relief so Americans can grow the economy to the point where current debt levels are minimized. Regards, Ron