undefined | Better HN

0 pointsczr8012y ago0 comments

Comparing the US, a huge resource-rich country with its own currency, to a tiny resource-poor european country that does not control its own currency is complete and utter nonsense.

To pay back its debt all the US government needs is dollars, and hey, look, the US government controls the supply of dollars.

To pay back its debt, the Greek government needs euros, and, oh, the ECB controls the supply of euros. Oops.

If you say the US can't print money because it will cause inflation - well, in the current climate you'd still be wrong, but let's address one issue at a time. The bottom line is that the US and Greece are fundamentally different, and comparisons between them are simply wrong.

0 comments

haberman12y ago

Fair enough on the fact that the US can print Dollars -- that addresses the Greece argument, but not the Weimar Republic one. Why is the inflation concern invalid?

czr80OP12y ago

As part of the war reparations, the Weimar republic had to pay back debt demoninated in gold and foreign currency. Same problem as Greece (or Argentina, to pick another case). Wikipedia has a good write up.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse