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Comment by refurb

1 month ago

Ok, so if you agree that infinite spending is impossible, and resource extraction is limited by the market, then what do you mean by:

> There actually literally is a free lunch

2 comments

refurb

Reply
amrocha  1 month ago

That debt issued by a central bank to its government to productively utilize real resources is not inflationary and not really “owed” to anyone. It’s an accounting detail.

In response to you saying that there is no free lunch since debt is always owed to someone.

  • refurb  1 month ago

    > That debt issued by a central bank to its government to productively utilize real resources is not inflationary and not really “owed” to anyone. It’s an accounting detail.

    This sentence doesn't make sense. "Debt issued to it's government"?

    I presume you mean government debt issued to the central bank, whereby the central bank prints new money as a part of the loan?

    It absolutely can be inflationary (see US inflation during Covid) if the money eventually makes it into the economy (e.g. by paying workers).

    And yes, debt is always owed to someone. Whether that someone is the central bank doesn't mean it's a free lunch - not paying back the loan has consequences to the economy.