Quote from: evoorhees on July 06, 2011, 03:52:03 PM

Quote from: bitrebel on July 06, 2011, 08:04:54 AM

and if the US Dollar has value and is not, in fact, debt....
then, can anyone explain to me how the us debt clock http://www.usdebtclock.org claims this?

You are still spouting nonsense in between your otherwise valid comments. The US dollar is not equivalent to debt. They are different things. A man with a bank account of $10,000 is NOT in an identical financial position to a man with a bank account of -$10,000. Your theory suggests that dollars=equal debt, and thus the two men are equivalent. That doesn't pass the straight-face test, let alone the more important test of reason. Dollars have value because you can exchange them for things. Will that be true in 10 years? Maybe not. But right now, they have value. They are not debt. They are assets of the bearer (but yes - depreciating assets).

Consider if the US was still on a gold standard, so that dollars were fixed to gold. The US Gov could STILL be trillions of dollars in debt, and we could still see the US Debt Clock in much the same manner. Your example is silly.

Thankfully, under a gold standard, a huge debt would encourage gold reserves to leave the country, thus curtailing the debt (this is why gov's don't like gold standards).

You are wrong. Sorry to be the one to point it out for you.
A person who holds $10,000 in federal reserve notes, holds $10,000 in debt, and owes taxes on that sum.
A person owes $10,000 in just in deeper debt, that's all.

Person A must rid himself of his obligations in order to not hold that debt.
Person B must acquire $10,000 in debt and use it to discharge his $10,000 debt that is already owed.

Both person A and Person B are $10,000 in debt, the only difference is, Person A has the $10,000 to pay it back.