is he gonna elminate the national debt?
after all the firings we must be saving billions
shareYou cannot eliminate national debt, no country in the history of the world has ever done that.
All money in existence is always exclusively borrowed into existence, anyone taking a loan "creates" the money for that and paying off a loan makes the money created with the loan vanish into the same thin air it came from.
Money created by the government in a loan and spent doesn't mean the money is gone, it just means the money is now in the hands of someone who doesn't have any debt and no need to spend it, therefore the government cannot get that money back unless they would introduce a wealth tax charged on savings and since they aren't doing that they cannot pay off the loan.
The only two other ways how a government can lower the national debt are economic growth or inflation, because through economic growth as well as through inflation the debt to GDP ratio shrinks, even though the absolute numbers of the debt remain the same.
But economic growth requires giving consumers the money to buy what the industry produces, meaning increase wages of average people which is about the last thing right wingers want to do and a wealth tax is the very last thing right wingers would consider.
What? Of course a country can pay off it's debt. The U.S. had no debt once in its history.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/andrew-jackson-national-debt-reaches-zero-dollars
In the U.S., only the Fed has the power to introduce new money into the system (The treasury prints the actual currency the Fed creates). If I were to lend you 20k, I would have to have money created by the fed to lend you. I can't legally create U.S. dollars on my own to lend to you. That would be counterfeiting and the Secret Service would soon bee knocking on my door.
I don't know where this belief that Trump will eliminate the national debt in the first few weeks comes from. The expectation is that *if* all of the spending cuts recommended by DOGE are implemented by Congress, the federal budget will be balanced, meaning we won't be running up any new debt, and after that, *if* everything goes to plan, we will be running a surplus that will lower the debt. *If* that model is followed for a few decades, then ultimately the debt will be zeroed out.
I personally, do not have high hopes for that.
You REALLY need to read a few things about money.
This would be a start: https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/667/money/banks-and-the-creation-of-money/
Private loans are obviously a different thing, because you would give me money that has already been created in the loan you or someone else took from a bank.
The central bank could print a gazillion dollars, none of any of it gets into circulation if nobody takes a loan to "create" it, because up to that moment it's just worthless paper laying around in the central bank.
I can write on a piece of paper "I owe you $100", would that be money I own while I have that piece of paper myself? Nope, while I have the paper it's a worthless piece of paper, but it would become money as soon as I give the paper to someone else, as long as that someone else considers my paper valid and trusts that I will buy it back for $100 later.
Ever heard of the central bank shipping money they printed to people for free? Nope? Why not? Maybe because the central bank never gives out anything for free, but waits for someone to take a loan from them, which can be either the government or a private bank.
In case that's not enough, here's what came out of paying off national debt (from your own link).
Jackson’s triumph contained the seeds of the economy’s undoing. The selling-off of federal lands had led to a real estate bubble, and the destruction of the national bank led to reckless spending and borrowing. Combined with other elements of Jackson’s fiscal policy as well as downturns in foreign economies, these problems led to the Panic of 1837. A bank run and the subsequent depression tanked the U.S. economy and forced the federal government to begin borrowing again.share
I will quickly address this one thing.
"I can write on a piece of paper "I owe you $100", would that be money I own while I have that piece of paper myself? Nope, while I have the paper it's a worthless piece of paper, but it would become money as soon as I give the paper to someone else, as long as that someone else considers my paper valid and trusts that I will buy it back for $100 later."
That piece of paper is basically a contract for a transaction, not currency. You would still need $100 dollars CREATED BY THE FED, to complete that transaction.
The FED prints the banknotes, but they do NOT create the money.
As long as the FED doesn't find anyone taking a loan for the printed banknotes these banknotes are just as worthless as a piece of paper I write myself while I keep that piece of paper myself.
If the FED were able to "create" money, you would be able to point to a distribution method other than the government or private banks taking loans from the FED.
The major flaw you have in your thinking is that you seem to believe the FED would print "I owe you" papers, but that's false, the government and private banks print pieces of paper written on "I owe you $x", they give that paper to the FED and the FED gives them banknotes in exchange which in this moment become money.
National debt is quite literally the amount of "I owe you" papers written by the government, the FED (or any other bank or even private people in the world that bought these papers, like the Chinese central bank) is holding.