That's diabolical. I assumed they would put financial requirements on things like pension funds and university trusts that would require them to hold some proportion of US treasuries.
31 sats \ 65 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
To be honest I am not sure… I think they could be something that take care of the issue and they wouldn’t need to do that however I could see government pensions being another big off ramp for these bonds as well
reply
Could they do that? Actually, arent they using social security to prop things up? I think the government has borrowed from it time and time again.
reply
The social security trust was a fiction to begin with, but even so, it's been in the negative for several years now.
reply
Isnt it because they borrow from it though? It should be highly positive with all the growth we have had in our economy in the past. Just amazes me how mismanaged the money is.
reply
Not really, but sort of. There was some fake accounting that was called the social security trust fund, but it was never legally binding in any way and the program was never actually set up to be financially sustainable.
On occasion, politicians have publicly justified their reckless spending as borrowing from that fake trust fund, though.
reply
31 sats \ 49 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
It was sustainable as long as the population kept increasing... ironically illegal immigration is really great at helping social security stay afloat since those individuals can never draw down from it
reply
Just like how pyramid schemes are sustainable.
What I mean is analogous to how defined contribution retirement plans are sustainable, but defined benefit plans are not. There was never a social security trust fund that mechanically contained all of the money or assets that would eventually get paid out. It was always organized like an unfunded liability, even if there was occasionally money somewhere that someone claimed was for social security payments.
reply
I just dont understand why they would sell the concept and then ruin it for the people in need. I just leaves a bad taste in your mouth.
Do illegal immigrants actually pay into it though?
reply
Yeah, I hear it on the fake news quite a bit. Actually, I remember an old coworker complaining that it isnt money the government should be touching.
reply
10 sats \ 3 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
I mean all the worlds money is whats funny is that the US is one of the best at it given its economic size compared to China and India.
reply
Its just because the dollar is trusted. Once it loses that trust, it will be a massive free for all.
reply
10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Cje95 7 May
I would agree however one thing I have learned is that what makes the dollar worth anything is the US military. If you think the US military is going to collapse like Russia then you can think that the dollar is collapsing however given the sheer size and lethality of the military the dollar will remain stronger than most just due to the fact of in conflict you might hit the US once but the US will make you bleed for generations to come
reply
haha No way will Americas army collapse. There are always lemmings willing to join up, just like 9/11. Nothing against people that join the military.
If they got really desperate, they could do a bail-in for themselves and convert people's savings into treasuries.
The one certainty is that they will do something to prop up demand for US debt.
reply
Is that cheating though? Buying your own bonds, it will just bring the value of the US dollar down even faster.
reply
21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
The US has been buying their bonds in one way or another for 100 years. While other countries use a central bank the US does it via the Fed and bond purchases
reply
Everything they do is cheating.
reply
21 sats \ 1 reply \ @Satosora 7 May
They could cheat and manipulate a little less obviously.
reply
Why go through the effort, when no one seems to care anyway?
reply
How would they even enact it? Give each parent a debt of 1000$? That would hurt a lot, considering how much a baby costs!
reply
31 sats \ 2 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
It isnt a debt! It is $1k set aside for the kid and they get it when they turn 18 it doesn't cost the parents anything!
reply
They dont just give out free money. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
reply
21 sats \ 0 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
I mean read the leg... it is free money. What I commented earlier was that they could in theory instead of put it in savings accounts like the legislation talked about instead give the kid $1k in US bonds to offramp some of the vast bond holdings
reply
There are lots of options, but one that comes to mind is that they could make it a refundable tax credit. That would basically let people buy bonds instead of paying taxes.
reply
Would that actually work? I would buy the bond and sell them right away, because they are worthless. Waiting for them to mature is a losing proposition.
reply
31 sats \ 5 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
If they used bonds you could not touch them. The kid could do whatever he wants once he/she hit 18 but not before.
reply
hhhmm... that would be a lot of money they would have to cash in. Imagine the first set, might bankrupt america lol
reply
10 sats \ 3 replies \ @Cje95 7 May
Ehhh the US is issuing like 7 trillion in bonds this year alone so meh
reply
7 trillion is just a drop in the ocean. lol
reply
10 sats \ 1 reply \ @Cje95 7 May
Correction I think its actually $9... from what I can recall its roughly 1/4 of the outstanding debt. A ton of it has come due along with higher interest rates they are having to issue more it was a wild thing to read about tbh