10 sats \ 15 replies \ @Undisciplined 10 May \ on: U.S. Treasury Cash Surge econ
A friend of mine made the argument that a government surplus is worse than a deficit, because a surplus means they stole your money and didn't even do anything with it.
My counter is that they would likely have done something evil with it, so it's actually not as bad, but it's still an interesting perspective.
reply
That’s why I always took maximum exemptions. I don’t want them getting a zero interest loan from me.
reply
reply
Not always
A surplus can be earmarked for new projects or spending more on current programs
Best use of surplus is tax rebates
reply
I’m reminded of Ron Swanson wanting to cut every taxpayer a 50 cent check, when they were debating what to do with a small surplus.
reply
That's true for governments that carry a debt, but many states have balanced budget amendments If one of those states were running a surplus, that money would not be paying for anything. It would just be taxation for taxation's sake.
reply
Surplus means taxes are coming in faster than Congress can spend it.
Deficits and surplus don’t matter. What matters is total expenditures or budget.
Biden latest proposal is 8 trillion dollars budget for the next fiscal year
8 trillion is evil regardless of deficit or surplus
reply
I don't think so. If they spent just as much but were running a surplus because taxes were so high, that would be worse.
I agree though, that most of the time it's a distraction and spending is more important.
reply
Good point about surplus and high taxation.
Spending is the key metric because taxation is what governments spend not what it collects.
I wish people would stop talking about balancing the budget. We can “balance” the budget with high taxes but that trade off is unacceptable
reply
I think it was Ron Paul who said “Spending is the tax.”
reply
And Milton Friedman
Adam Smith and Frederic Bastiat probably said it too.
reply
I don’t think Smith would have said that, but the other two might have.
reply