L. Randall Wray

You have to remember that if the outstanding debt is $30 trillion, that means we, all of us taken together, have $30 trillion of the safest asset in the world. We are happy to hold that and we get to earn interest on it. It doesn't reduce the value of that debt. A $100 bond will remain worth $100, and it will earn interest for us.

You have to remember that if the outstanding debt is $30 trillion, that means we, all of us taken together, have $30 trillion of the safest asset in the world. We are happy to hold that and we get to earn interest on it. It doesn't reduce the value of that debt. A $100 bond will remain worth $100, and it will earn interest for us.

You have to remember that if the outstanding debt is $30 trillion, that means we, all of us taken together, have $30 trillion of the safest asset in the world. We are happy to hold that and we get to earn interest on it. It doesn't reduce the value of that debt. A $100 bond will remain worth $100, and it will earn interest for us.

Taxes reduce our net income. That is true. And there are times when you want the government to do that. No, there isn't. No, there really isn't. I don't mean you as an individual. Nobody likes paying taxes. Okay, that's clear. But what I'm saying is there are times when it is in the national interest to increase taxes. And that is related to your point.

Taxes reduce our net income. That is true. And there are times when you want the government to do that. No, there isn't. No, there really isn't. I don't mean you as an individual. Nobody likes paying taxes. Okay, that's clear. But what I'm saying is there are times when it is in the national interest to increase taxes. And that is related to your point.

Taxes reduce our net income. That is true. And there are times when you want the government to do that. No, there isn't. No, there really isn't. I don't mean you as an individual. Nobody likes paying taxes. Okay, that's clear. But what I'm saying is there are times when it is in the national interest to increase taxes. And that is related to your point.

That withdraws net income from the non-government sector and reduces inflation pressure. So for example, let's go back to World War II. We're coming out of the Great Depression. We know that we're going to devote a huge portion of our nation's productive capacity to the war effort. It turns out we devoted 50% of all output went to the war effort.

That withdraws net income from the non-government sector and reduces inflation pressure. So for example, let's go back to World War II. We're coming out of the Great Depression. We know that we're going to devote a huge portion of our nation's productive capacity to the war effort. It turns out we devoted 50% of all output went to the war effort.

That withdraws net income from the non-government sector and reduces inflation pressure. So for example, let's go back to World War II. We're coming out of the Great Depression. We know that we're going to devote a huge portion of our nation's productive capacity to the war effort. It turns out we devoted 50% of all output went to the war effort.

We had to make a transition from a peacetime economy with a very small defense sector, very little military spending, to a massive buildup of our defense sector. And taxes played a very important role in doing that. So we increased taxes, not because the government needs the money. And I can tell you, the government knew this.

We had to make a transition from a peacetime economy with a very small defense sector, very little military spending, to a massive buildup of our defense sector. And taxes played a very important role in doing that. So we increased taxes, not because the government needs the money. And I can tell you, the government knew this.

We had to make a transition from a peacetime economy with a very small defense sector, very little military spending, to a massive buildup of our defense sector. And taxes played a very important role in doing that. So we increased taxes, not because the government needs the money. And I can tell you, the government knew this.

The purpose of the tax was not to give the government money because the government can always create the money. It can't create enough output. We had to reduce private consumption. We needed the tires to go to the military, not to civilian cars. And so we reduced people's take-home pay by increasing taxes. In addition, we said, let's get people to save. Let's promote patriotic saving.

The purpose of the tax was not to give the government money because the government can always create the money. It can't create enough output. We had to reduce private consumption. We needed the tires to go to the military, not to civilian cars. And so we reduced people's take-home pay by increasing taxes. In addition, we said, let's get people to save. Let's promote patriotic saving.

The purpose of the tax was not to give the government money because the government can always create the money. It can't create enough output. We had to reduce private consumption. We needed the tires to go to the military, not to civilian cars. And so we reduced people's take-home pay by increasing taxes. In addition, we said, let's get people to save. Let's promote patriotic saving.

Let's sell war bonds. And there was a huge campaign to convince people to buy the war bonds. Now, did the government need to borrow money from households? No, of course not. They knew they didn't need to borrow money. The government can't run out of money. What they wanted was households to save instead of spending so that they didn't compete with the war effort.

Let's sell war bonds. And there was a huge campaign to convince people to buy the war bonds. Now, did the government need to borrow money from households? No, of course not. They knew they didn't need to borrow money. The government can't run out of money. What they wanted was households to save instead of spending so that they didn't compete with the war effort.

Let's sell war bonds. And there was a huge campaign to convince people to buy the war bonds. Now, did the government need to borrow money from households? No, of course not. They knew they didn't need to borrow money. The government can't run out of money. What they wanted was households to save instead of spending so that they didn't compete with the war effort.

So you weren't out there buying tires or nylon stockings. You were saving in war bonds. And there were other methods too. They used wage and price controls. At the end of the war, we're going to ramp down all the production for the war effort. Think of all those factories that were building tanks. Now we're going to convert those back to civilian use. Now we want households to spend more.

So you weren't out there buying tires or nylon stockings. You were saving in war bonds. And there were other methods too. They used wage and price controls. At the end of the war, we're going to ramp down all the production for the war effort. Think of all those factories that were building tanks. Now we're going to convert those back to civilian use. Now we want households to spend more.