Comment by thrwwy001 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by thrwwy001 | Hacker News Reader

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> This makes crashes last longer and harder. It requires greater fiscal discipline to overcome.

Isn't this a good thing? Otherwise, what incentive is there for financial discipline?

> The problem with the USA "empire" is that for a trading empire to work you need a plan, and stick to it.

Have stuck with it for over 75 years. Not too shabby. Also why is empire in quotes?

> China has been quietly debt trapping a whole bunch of nations that have strategic things they need.

I know the US and Europe has for centuries. Which ones has china "debt trapped"? Or are we sticking to the propaganda that china helping develop other nations is "debt trapping".

> Something neither the president or congress have the ability to do.

Neither the president nor congress sets the "plan" for the US. Do you really think trump gets to decide geopolitics? Do you really think congress decides the direction of the nation? Or do you think they listen to the elites who fund and control them? One has to be extraordinarly naive to think that a superpower with nukes is run by the masses.

The president and congress sells the plan decided by the powerful to the masses. It's why they exist. They don't plan or decide anything. Most of their time is spent raising money for elections. When do you think trump or congress has the time to develop any expertise in anything.

> what incentive is there for financial discipline?

Getting reelected because you managed to not tank the currency and economy.

> Getting reelected because you managed to not tank the currency and economy.

That clearly that hasn't worked has it? Also, are you arguing against term limits?

Having to get elected is reason not to enforce financial discipline because people don't vote for those who promise financial discipline. People vote for those who promise more stuff.

What a naive comment.

> what incentive is there for financial discipline?

there isn't one. Banks need to lend as much cash as possible to make as much money as possible. A gold standard doesn't stop that, it just means that bailing out customers of those banks much much harder. hence why the FTC was setup. Its a rich history and well worth looking into

> I know the US and Europe has for centuries.

Not really, the last "european" style colonial system died in 1989 with the collapse of the USSR. Sure France does the whole "we'll administer your currency for a huge fee", bu that only works because they are ex colonies. Invading another country and turning it into a puppet state is much more costly than people think (see Syria, Georgia, Iraq, Afghanistan)

What china is doing is far more clever, far more effective, much less bloody and extremely profitable. just build a road, port, rail line, factory, mine. charge the host country a fee, bish bash bosh, massive growth for the host and china.

> Do you really think trump gets to decide geopolitics?

I mean he's not far away from deposing a president, and he's allowing another country to ethnically cleanse another(Biden did that too). Biden crashed russia's economy, Trump will un-crash it and let it re-arm to invade another country.

That sounds like geopolitics to me.

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