The measure of an economy is
money. A large
economy needs a larger supply of
money
than does a small
economy.
Therefore, a growing economy needs a growing supply of
money.
All money is a form of debt. Therefore, a growing economy requires a growing supply of debt.
U. S. Federal Debt is the safest, most controllable form of debt. The federal government, alone among borrowers, never will default.
Thus, there is no
federal debt or deficit problem, and a
balanced federal budget leads to a
recession or a depression.
Popular wisdom tells us federal deficits and debt can cause
inflation.
The reasoning is:
Inflation
means the value of
money
falls compared to the value of goods and services. More dollars are needed to exchange for a fixed amount of goods and services.
All money is a form of debt. When the federal government creates debt by selling T-Bills, T-Notes and T-Bonds, it creates
money.
Therefore, if the government increases the supply of our
money,without also increasing the demand, the value of our
money
will fall and we will have
inflation.
The key words are "without also increasing the demand." Because the value of
money
is based on supply and demand, the value can be maintained or raised by increasing the demand.
What are the factors affecting the demand for
money?
Risk and reward. The greater the risk, the less demand. The greater the reward, the more demand. Therefore, to increase the demand for
money
requires reducing the risk while increasing the reward.
The primary risk for
money
is loss of value, either by
inflation
or government devaluation. The U.S. government is known for fighting
inflation,
and is not expected to devalue its currency. So the risk in owning dollars is minimal.
What is the reward for owning dollars? Interest. You would rather own dollars when they pay a high interest than when they pay a low interest. Do dollars pay interest? Yes, your dollars in your savings account pay you interest. Also, your dollars exchanged for T-Bills, T-Notes, T-Bonds, corporate bonds, municiple bonds,
money
markets, etc., all of which are forms of
money,
all of which pay you interest.
You have a choice of many investments, some of which are
money
and some of which are not
money.
The above investments, being financial debt, are
money.
Investments that are not
money
include stocks, real estate and all commodities such a gold, silver diamonds and corn.
That is why, when interest rates are low, people are more likely to invest in
non-money
assets such as real estate and stocks. When interest rates are high, people are more likely to invest in
money
assets such as bonds and CDs.
High interest rates increase the demand for
money,
which is why the Fed increases rates when it worries about
inflation.
In the above chart, the red line indicates changes in inflation while the blue line indicates changes in federal debt. It is easy to see there is no relationship between federal debt and
inflation.
The Fed is quite proactive about
inflation,
as can be seen in the following chart.
In the above chart, the red line indicates changes in
inflation,
while the blue line indicates changes in interest rates. Each time
inflation
rises, the Fed increases rates to increase the value of the dollar, compared with the values of goods and services.
In summary, increases in federal debt do not, and will not, cause
inflation,
so long as interest rates create sufficient demand for
money.
Since the Fed controls interest rates, the Fed has absolute control over
inflation
and is directly responsible for any periods of
inflation
we have had.