[PEN-L:4046] Re: State of the Left

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Except for U.S. Savings Bonds, why not forgive the national debt ? Banks are parasites. They actually owe the People for all of the surplus value they have taken. Private property is theft.

Charles Brown

>>> Max Sawicky <sawicky@xxxxxxxxxx> 03/02/99 03:34PM >>>
Excerpt from:

http://www.progressive.org/conniff9903.htm


The Republicans prodded Jackson about using the government
surplus to pay down the debt--wouldn't he rather spend the money?
Jackson stuck by the President's ultraconservative economic
program: "Reducing the debt obviously gives us more strength; it
allows us to save Social Security," Jackson said.

Kemp gently disagreed. Focusing relentlessly on paying off
government debt is like saying you should buy a house only when
you can pay for it up front in cash, he explained. "I'm in favor
of debt to pay for long-term expenditures," said Kemp. "We grew
out of World War II's debt. The deficit in 1946 was 50 percent of
GNP--50 percent of GNP! But we have had continued expansion. . .
.. The answer to debt is growth--it's reducing debt as a
percentage of the pie, keeping our economy on a growth track.
It's doing well today, but I tell you my friend, Reverend
Jackson, the actuaries of Social Security are scaring the
American people by coming to the conclusion that if our economy
slips to 1.3 percent growth over the next three years, retirement
will not be there for them."

Here, before he was quickly cut off by Chairman Archer, Kemp let
the cat out of the bag: If we continue having even modest
economic growth, there is no reason to believe the Social
Security system will reach a crisis. . . .