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   Laffy (gottalaff@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:03 JST Laffy

   Just...

   WaPo:

   #Trump said he will create a new “External Revenue Service” to collect revenue from #tariffs, a signal of his determination to impose sweeping duties on imports.

   • Embed this notice
     Nicole Parsons (npars01@mstdn.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:56 JST Nicole Parsons

     in reply to

     2/2

     https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/040115/reasons-why-china-buys-us-treasury-bonds.asp

     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beggar_thy_neighbour

     Failing to tax billionaires is a recipe for disaster. The world wars triggered by the Gilded Age provide ample proof.

     Income taxes (progressive) vs consumption taxes (regressive)

     Taxation has international implications as much as a failure to tax appropriately.
     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wars_for_Asia,_1911%E2%80%931949

     HistoPol (#HP) 🏴 🇺🇸 🏴 repeated this.
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     Nicole Parsons (npars01@mstdn.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:57 JST Nicole Parsons

     in reply to

     • GhostOnTheHalfShell
     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @GhostOnTheHalfShell @TCatInReality @Crispius @GottaLaff

     The USA's debt isn't entirely sovereign.
     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

     Saudi Arabia & China buy a lot of Treasury bills.
     https://theconversation.com/u-s-national-debt-is-its-achilles-heel-but-china-sees-it-as-an-opportunity-239712

     What happens if those overseas lenders sit out a single bond sale? Or use it to push their weight around?

     As S.C.M. Paine points out, the US brought about WW2 by playing "half court tennis" that beggared their trading partners with isolationist monetary policies.

     A populist policy.

     1/2

   • Embed this notice
     GhostOnTheHalfShell (ghostonthehalfshell@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:58 JST GhostOnTheHalfShell

     in reply to

     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies
     • Nicole Parsons
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @TCatInReality @Npars01 @Crispius @GottaLaff

     I’d agree to say that the legislature has figured out a way to threaten the US with default on its own currency. It’s a crazy thing and probably the only thing I think is rational out of Trump at this point is a desire to get rid of the ceiling.

     If they don’t want that much money in the economy, best way to do it is not to spend as much, or collect from billionaires and corporations more.

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     MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies (tcatinreality@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:59 JST MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies

     in reply to

     • GhostOnTheHalfShell
     • Nicole Parsons
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @GhostOnTheHalfShell @Npars01 @Crispius @GottaLaff
     That may be technically correct, but irrelevant for two reasons.

     1) While the gov can magically create money, it pays real money when it buys goods/services or pays wages. Of course, gov could simply print more money, but doing that too much/too fast causes an inflationary spiral.

     2) The gov has chosen to legislate a debt cap, essentially shackling itself to the income + approved debt ceiling.

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     GhostOnTheHalfShell (ghostonthehalfshell@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:59 JST GhostOnTheHalfShell

     in reply to

     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies
     • Nicole Parsons
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @TCatInReality @Npars01 @Crispius @GottaLaff

     MMT describes how the monetary system of the currency sovereign work. Full stop. Monetary inflation only occurs when the government adds money to an economy at full employment. And I will stress here there are many Sources of inflation, such as profiteering that have nothing to do with the amount of money in the economy.

     The federal government funds the federal government, not taxes. Debt ceiling doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change where $ comes from

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     MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies (tcatinreality@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:50:59 JST MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies

     in reply to

     • GhostOnTheHalfShell
     • Nicole Parsons
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @GhostOnTheHalfShell @Npars01 @Crispius @GottaLaff

     Sure, I'll agree everything you just said.

     But will you agree the US government has *chosen* to limit its budget to the income + debt ceiling? THAT has been my point - not the mechanics of MMT.

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     GhostOnTheHalfShell (ghostonthehalfshell@masto.ai)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:00 JST GhostOnTheHalfShell

     in reply to

     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies
     • Nicole Parsons
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @Npars01 @Crispius @TCatInReality @GottaLaff

     I’m going to push back on you on this one. Income taxes don’t pay for anything. Per MMT, a monetary sovereign issues and spends its own currency. The US summons or provisions money into existence when Congress agrees on a budget. The money is provisioned in that process.

     That money is the stuff in our bank accounts. In the federal budget deficit and money to the economy. Our federal taxes delete money from the economy.

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     Nicole Parsons (npars01@mstdn.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:01 JST Nicole Parsons

     in reply to

     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies
     • *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     @Crispius @TCatInReality @GottaLaff

     The last time the US Federal government had to rely on consumption taxes & survive without an income tax, it couldn't afford a military effort for WW1.
     https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/historical-highlights-of-the-irs

     Income taxes fund the US military. The biggest on the planet.
     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_highest_military_expenditures

     It spent a century turning citizens into alcoholics for the excise tax revenues on spirits.
     https://www.pbs.org/video/prohibition-episode-one-a-nation-of-drunkards/

     Putin couldn't be happier with Musk's efforts at tax cuts for the rich, ...

     1/2

   • Embed this notice
     MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies (tcatinreality@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:02 JST MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies

     in reply to

     @GottaLaff

     Of course, a body to collect tariffs already exists, so he's just making noise.

     But you've got to admit, he knows how to get a message out and understandable to anyone. I bet millions will hear this and think it's something new.

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     *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦 (crispius@infosec.exchange)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:02 JST *|FNAME|* 🇨🇦

     in reply to

     • MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies

     @TCatInReality
     It’s also a branding exercise.

     By using ‘External’ vs ‘Internal’ it makes the tariffs appear as though they are to be paid by someone else, when in reality they are paid by the American consumer.

     It signals a move toward his goal of getting rid of income taxes altogether and replacing them with tariffs.

     @GottaLaff

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     MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies (tcatinreality@mastodon.social)'s status on Friday, 17-Jan-2025 08:51:29 JST MEIDAS TCat Ignores the lies

     in reply to

     • Nicole Parsons

     @Npars01

     It's worth noting that income tax is hardly progressive anymore. The truly wealthy don't take "income" and pay almost no tax.

     Income tax more than a century old and far too many workaround exist.

     We need a #WealthTax , #RaiseCGT , #RaiseInheritanceTax and close a lot of loopholes to get at the trillions of untaxed money.

     #TaxTheRich