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Politics : Mainstream Politics and Economics -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: KyrosL who wrote (258)	9/1/2011 6:21:12 AM
From: Paul Smith	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

But we don't need to have the federal debt decline. We need to have the debt to GDP ratio decline. I think that is a fair and accurate point but it shifts the discussion toward what policies would result in greater GDP growth. A case could be made that increased regulations, such as those that impact oil drilling (and others), have a negative impact on GDP growth and also jobs. While some/many regulations have merit, they also come with a cost and the cost is often a reduction of growth. I think we either need to allow more growth with some regulatory change or make large budget cuts or some combination of both.

To: KyrosL who wrote (258)	9/1/2011 8:09:40 AM
From: Bearcatbob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 85487

"If you go to the Treasury Department site you will see that in no year - no year - did the federal debt decline. Yes, we all know that. It's the Social Security trust fund money we are spending. But we don't need to have the federal debt decline. We need to have the debt to GDP ratio decline. All presidents and congresses before Reagan achieved that. Only Clinton achieved that after Reagan." Just something to keep in mind when we talk about the "Clinton surpluses". Also, the above needs to be seriously reconsidered if we get a serious rise in interest rates. Perhaps we should say that "we need to have the cost of debt service ration to GDP decline. Current rates are something I never dreamed I would see in my life time. Bob