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by starspangled 389 days ago
I'm not asking what it's called, I'm asking why that's claimed to be out of their means when it quite clearly is within their means to have this exorbitant privilege, as evidenced by the fact that they have exorbitant privilege.
1 comments
dns_snek 389 days ago
Because at some unspecified point in the future, the rest of world will stop playing the game where the house always wins.
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starspangled 389 days ago
No, the meaning of the phrase "living beyond one's means" doesn't go to the unavoidable fact that circumstances change over time. I will one day become infirm and unable to earn money, that does not mean I'm currently living beyond my means.

US dollars might one day cease to be the global reserve currency in which case Americans will not see such benefits associated with that. This is a true statement. That doesn't mean they are currently living beyond their means either though.

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dns_snek 389 days ago
> I will one day become infirm and unable to earn money, that does not mean I'm currently living beyond my means.

That is not the same thing because it's real productivity, labor is the only thing in the world that has any real value. You're exchanging your own labor for other people's labor. The US is exchanging something that has no inherent value (USD) for other people's labor.

If I take on all the debt that I can, max out my credit cards, mortgage my house, and spend everything I have on luxuries, am I living beyond my means, or am I living within my means as evidenced by the fact that I'm actually doing it?

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starspangled 389 days ago
> That is not the same thing because it's real productivity, labor is the only thing in the world that has any real value.

Note that I'm strictly discussing this topic using words in the way you'd find them defined in a reputable dictionary or a high school economics book.

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intended 389 days ago
The rest of the world wants to be the house.

The rest of the world was and remains very happy to play this game, because it reduces the amount of trouble people have when exchanging currencies.

It gives advantages to America, sure. But America recognized that there were consequences.

Today, 1/3rd of the American electorate is insulated from reality, and its politics are free to downplay, or ignore consequences, if not just blame them on the opposition.

No one has an answer to a broken market of information. In the end, reality will have its due.

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