DEBT AND DEFICITS

 

DEBT AND DEFICITS

 

When you share a planet with over 8 billion people and the numbers keep increasing the complexities of keeping nations and economies running increases exponentially as well.  Aside from the political conflicts playing out across the globe, there is the ever present urgency of economic wellbeing.  President Xi Jinping of China in responding to Trump’s tariff threats referred to America’s economy as debt driven.  A nation is only as strong as the trade and wealth it produces, but Xi didn’t just reference America’s economic performance and what it delivers in form of taxation, but that America’s government is deficit driven because its taxation of the nation’s GDP falls well short of government expenditures.  There no longer is such a thing as a balanced budget.  A balanced budget simply means that a nation or government doesn’t spent more than what it takes in.  America’s federal debt alone is over 37 trillion dollars, or roughly $105,000 dollars per person.  Put on top of that state, county, municipal and personal debt, and the average American is up to his or her eyeballs in debt.  The nation’s taxed portion of all income cannot keep up or match the “needs” of government.

America is not alone in its accumulation of government debt, but it has the dubious ranking of being number one.  One third of all global debt is now racked up by Americans.  You see, there is that persnickety problem we all tend to ignore: We, the people, are the government and it doesn’t really matter whether you live in a democracy or under communist rule.  When it’s your nation, it’s your debt!  Government leaders, whether it is Trump, Putin or Xi or any other world leader, are always looking at their odds for survival in office.  How much debt can we manage?  How do we squeak through and keep the train on track?

In some of my previous novels like—Behaving Badly and We, the Masses—I have explained in much greater detail how all forms of government eventually fall victim to their size and expenditures.  Leave it untouched and it becomes like an ever expanding mushroom ring in the forest.  There should be constitutional limits placed on the size and expenditures of government in relation to the private sector and on how much it can spend, borrow and tax.  That is a simple and condensed version.  Trump’s tariffs won’t even put a dent in what his government borrows and spends, especially when there is no indication of any austerity measures put in place.  Nickeling and diming and denying basic services to the most vulnerable people in society doesn’t qualify as austerity, but is plain vindictive meanness.  Throwing a multi-million dollar military parade birthday bash and spending tens of millions of dollars on a gigantic ballroom in the White House, replete with Trump’s fascination with the color gold, may be intended as showing off America’s might, but it can’t hide the fact that the reality of a horrendous debt load is here to stay.

It is so easy to hide behind credit.  Easy money!  Keep borrowing and printing the stuff.  And to stay in power leaders curry favor with those controlling the wealth of the nation, and increasingly, the wealth of the world.  Governments, in order to stay in power, are catering to the whims and wishes of those who have the most.  The result is an unfair tax system that places too much pressure on low and middle income earners.  The super wealthy of the world, individuals and corporations, are the beneficiaries of tax exemptions, loopholes and tax havens to hide all that extra cash.  A lopsided wealth division that has people on the move.

Borders mean nothing to desperate people.

Around the world billions of people are living in poverty.  Many see no way out and are desperate to escape poverty and a lack of growth and opportunity.  As a result the world around us is integrating whether we like it or not.  Borders mean nothing to desperate people.  Desperate to escape conflicts and wars, religious persecution and oppression.  Cellphones connect the world.  Those wonderful handheld devices are everywhere and they see how we live and they want to be part of it, of our lifestyles and standard of living.  And they are escaping by the million, pressing on, risking their lives.  On foot, by boat, legally and illegally.  Refugees and asylum seekers.  We are at our wits end trying to cope with an influx of basically unwanted people.  Pushback is already taking place, at borders, ports, and beaches.  Nations are bracing for the worst and the resentment and pushback is evident in the increase in military budgets around the globe as nations are getting ready for yet another showdown; with each other, with poverty, with crumbling economies loaded down by a debt load none of them can afford.

Debt and deficits, too much government, overspending, unfair taxation, shrinking opportunities and billions of people falling behind in the income race.  Rather than pursuing solid and slow growth, the economic emphasis instead has been placed on increased profits that only benefit a few at the expense of many.  To place a nation on a solid economic footing the emphasis should be placed on advancing the entire population, providing an environment of fairness, equality, trust and respect.  Instead we pursue the opposite.  Those in power always view the general population as an entity to be exploited and squeezed according to their ability to pay.  Which explains historically low interest rates.  Those who owe, individuals and governments, can’t afford to fork over more.  Hello tariffs.  Instead of raising taxes or at least introducing a taxation system that is incremental based—the more you make the more you pay—the tariff billions—which increases the overall cost of living expenses for almost all Americans—are hoped to plug some of the holes in the government’s programs, services and military objectives.

The world never moves according to desired plans and all the things we hope for.  And I will illustrate this with a conflict that all of us are familiar with.  When a state of Israel was first proposed the most logical location was of course the area it now occupies.  Unfortunately it was called Palestine, home of the Palestinians.  Historically the two tribes have always lived there, occupied many times, shoved around more than most, but stubbornly clinging to their roots, their language and cultures.  An integrated state of Israel or Palestine, or perhaps a hyphenated form to recognize the existence of the two tribes, would have been the most desired solution.  Carving a two-state solution from not one, but two separate Palestinian areas, is about as ludicrous as it gets, especially when surrounded by a rather hostile Israeli presence that loathes to give up either land or control.  And with the rest of the world sticking to their political two cents and taking active sides, it will fester and grow out of control until when?  Nobody can see a logical way out.  This is how we historically behave.  For those of you familiar with my latest work—Energy & Origin—you will recognize the impact of energy and momentum and how human behavior is a logical extension as to how these forces impact and behave.  Don’t look for common sense or rational behavior.

Global temperatures are rising in correlation with the escalation in flaring human tempers.  The heat is on and our massive debts and deficits only add more kindling to the fire.  We are our own worst enemy.  Always have been.  And to paraphrase a line from an earlier article: peace is merely an interlude in between wars.