Comments by "Aden Wellsmith" (@adenwellsmith6908) on "The national debt need never be repaid" video.

So Richard, How are people going to live in their old age when you don't pay them the pension they have paid for? Screw the pensioners.
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No pension for Civil Servants. See how they behave.
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@xtc2v Exactly. The game of fantasy economics where you ignore the big debts, to get the answer you want. Namely spend spend spend.
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@downshift4503 If their pension isn't a debt, we don't have to pay it. That saves huge sums of money. That's Richard's position because he hasn't included that debt in his numbers. We could create a new currency called the voucher. Print lots of them, pay them with vouchers. Remember the state can never run out of vouchers. Do you now see the flaws in the argument being presented? 1. The fantasy game of economics where you ignore the big debts. 2. The print to pay fantasy
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@downshift4503 It's a debt. An inflation linked debt. What about civil servants pensions? The government can always pay the state pension in it's own currency. True for a fixed rate debt. False for inflation linkled debt. MMT is very clear on that.
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It has pensioners to pay.
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Pensions.
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@ProgressiveEconomicsSupporter They are bonds. They are interest bearing securities. The Gilt bit goes back to the original certificates having a gilt edge to them
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@ProgressiveEconomicsSupporter Correct. No need to issue bonds to start spending. You just print, or you tax. Bonds are just one way of borrowing. Other examples, governt pensions. That's a form of borrowing. Off the books and the forced creditors and they are screwed.
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@downshift4503 Because its clear you don't understand the process. Having you try explain it will for you be an interesting process. You will see the flaws in what people are pushing. Another good example, and remember this is an accounting based channel, is to account for the receipt of a state pension payment. Now Richard won't do that because it exposes the big flaw in his ideas.
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@downshift4503 Let me example more on inflation linked debts. Fixed rate debts, you print money. That causes inflation, you pay off the debt with the printed money. Creditors lose of course, but you haven't defaulted. For inflation linked debt. You print lots of money to service the inflation linked debts. Inflation happens. Prices double. That £16 trillion pension debt is now £32 trillion. You've just increased the debt. MMT and the equation of exchange are very clear as to what happens. To give value to money, you have to fine and tax in that money. MMT again. To pay the inflation linked debt you have to tax, and used that tax to pay the debts, not services. The very definition of austerity. Or you default. Just austerity for a differenet section of society.
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@Baxwell. Yes he is. He's saying very clearly that the debt won't be paid. ===== The government can always afford to pay pensions so long as those pensioners have enough stuff to buy with that pension money. ======= No it can't. It can only pay if it can extract the value from other tax payers.
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@Mulberry2000 QE is printing. It's inflating the money supply. The big error is leaving off the big debts. Put those into the analysis and its clear, its a disaster. Why would an accountant want to hide the balance sheet debts/liabilities?
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@tancreddehauteville764 Which makes it a debt. It was paid for up front.
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@downshift4503 From time to time, the government changes what the rules are Exactly. They have to change the law to default on the full promises. That means it is a debt. Even the accountants say obligation. That's far weaker than a contract, and contracts rank below the law. If you have to change the law to get out of paying in full what was promised its a default
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Doesn't require it. You can get it other ways. Such as a bond and a CDS contact. Even gilts are not risk free. You need to add on CDS contracts to make it risk free. Look at the UK credit rating.
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@Vroomfondle1066 Look at the consequences of these debts. 1. Wealth inequality 2. State austerity 3. Cost of living crisis 4. Pensioner poverty 5. Lack of investment ... Which of those are good things?
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@ProgressiveEconomicsSupporter The money going into Gilts is being printed. The government then spends it.See the APF Ltd Accounts for the numbers.
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No. Look at the accounts of the asset purchase facility to see who is buying the debt. What about the pension debts?
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That's just the money owed to bankers. What about the money owe to the peasants such as their means of eating in their retirement.
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@downshift4503 What's the APF?
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@downshift4503 No its a private company. What does it own? What does it owe?
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Local and national government are not households They are when it comes to spending and to inflation linked debts. Fixed rate debt, I agree.
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@Alberto-k6t It's not prevented. Seingnorage goes to the ECB
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@Alberto-k6t I would add at 0% interest there is no seignorage.
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@downshift4503 So go through the process with the accounting, and the capital adaquacy rules.
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@seamusweber8298 The national debt can be repaid through higher taxation yield AND lower national expenditure. ========= That's austerity. However, are you sure that it can be repaid? Now we are talking all debts. Not just the money owed to bankers. Problem is the debts are out of control, and even that plan won't work. The damage that level of austerity does is to cripple the economy. Then I agree entirely with you, any government doing that gets replaced.
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@seamusweber8298 So it leads on to what measures you can use to see if the debt can be repaid? You need the total amount owed and its rate of growth for starters.
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@downshift4503 It's in law. Until the law is changed, its a debt.
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@downshift4503 So what about the civil service pensions? A contract, not even the law.
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@downshift4503 Currently they owe me a pension. They owe civil servants and public sector workers a pension. It's not hard is it?
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@downshift4503 They are a debt. Both are. What's your definiton of a debt or liability? Cancel the state pension. What do you think would happen? Do the same for the civil service pension? It's not a debt, you can get rid of state austerity by 2 simple actions.
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@Mulberry2000 The video starts with the premise. What if the only debt is the money owed to the bankers. It's fantasy economics.
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@downshift4503 So its interesting. Your post is very typical of the left. Namely we've taken the money of the peasants, and we're not going to pay them. Stupid peasants. OK, I've put a bit of a twist on it, buts that fundamentally what you are saying. The state has screwed people over, its going to do that even more. The only people that are owed money are bankers. Why would a left winger push that as being good?
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