One trillion. A thousand billion. Ten thousand million. An almost incomprehensible number.
Light travels at 186,000 miles per second or 5.88 trillion miles in a year. To analogize with money, you would have to spend $186,000 per second to burn through $5.88 trillion in a year. But our government is poised to do just that. In addition to the $3 trillion appropriated so far just in response to the COVID-19 impact, Ms. (Speaker of the House Nancy) Pelosi has coerced the Democrats enthralled to her, including Ms. (U.S. Rep. Chellie) Pingree and Mr. (U.S. Rep. Jared) Golden, to legislate another $3 trillion, deceptively calling it the HEROES Act. Of this, $500 billion would go directly to state governments ostensibly to offset COVID-19 expenses, but in reality disguising a bailout for the gross mismanagement of their financial obligations.
Who will pay for these staggering sums, sums which dwarf the $3.6 trillion yearly intake of the government? Images depicting presses churning out $100 bills suggest the government need only turn on those presses. In fact, those dollars are underwritten through the issuance of U.S. treasury bond debt. That debt must be serviced through the payment of interest to bond holders. The interest comes from tax dollars, creating a diversion of money which would otherwise be available for useful purposes like infrastructure upgrading. Too much debt worries bond holders, who fear a default, an inability to meet an interest payment, a catastrophic event resulting in massive inflation and loss of a currency’s worth. It happens. Consider Argentina or Weimar Germany.
Now, only the U.S. Senate can stop the implementation of the aspects of the HEROES Act that are unrelated to COVID-19. Do Mainers want to pay for the ineptitude and mismanagement of the likes of New York, Illinois and California? Urge Sens. King and Collins to vote NO!
Arrowsic
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