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Originally Posted by piece-itpete
England and Germany have used austerity as well. Eventually you run out of money.
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England, under Cameron, is trying austerity now and it's not working. I don't think Germany has tried it since the 1920s and we know how well that turned out.
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Do those charts include 'inter government' debt?
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I think intergovernmental debt is contained within the gross debt.
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And where does this growth come from? Increasing taxes?
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Yes, increased
revenue through the growth that governmental investments create. The GI Bill, an investment in the earning potential of individual Americans, paid back its investment many times over in both economic stimulus and revenue. Hell, Pete, even unemployment compensation is an investment. Every dollar that the government pays out in unemployment creates, depending on the source, anywhere from about $1.10 to $1.60 to the economy. (I think $1.25 is the generally accepted figure.)
The Republicans are obfuscating the issue through their messaging. They refer to everything as "spending" when they should be calling it an investment. Our wars are spending. There is no financial return on ant of it. On the other hand, investing in social programs and infrastructure, like the TVA and the Interstate Highway System increase the prosperity of the nation as a whole and, more importantly, the prosperity of "We the People".
John