'Dangerous Donald' Is Childish and Stupid. esq.h
Post# of 65628
Quote:
'Dangerous Donald' Is Childish and Stupid.
BY CHARLES P. PIERCE
MAY 6, 2016
Somebody please stop him. From The New York Times:
Asked whether the United States needed to pay its debts in full, or whether he could negotiate a partial repayment, Mr. Trump told the cable network CNBC, "I would borrow, knowing that if the economy crashed, you could make a deal." He added, "And if the economy was good, it was good. So, therefore, you can't lose."
Such remarks by a major presidential candidate have no modern precedent. The United States government is able to borrow money at very low interest rates because Treasury securities are regarded as a safe investment, and any cracks in investor confidence have a long history of costing American taxpayers a lot of money.
Experts also described Mr. Trump's vaguely sketched proposal as fanciful, saying there was no reason to think America's creditors would accept anything less than 100 cents on the dollar, regardless of Mr. Trump's deal-making prowess.
"No one on the other side would pick up the phone if the secretary of the U.S. Treasury tried to make that call," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP. "Why should they? They have a contract" requiring payment in full.
On the one hand, as far as the national economy goes, we might as well elect a career pickpocket as this guy. On the other hand, the proposal only makes slightly less sense than do supply-side economics, so there's that.