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Re:Government to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year 84 perc... by hn_throwaway_99 on Sunday February 04, 2018 @10:44PM (#16306455)
> I'd say that can continue indefinitely, so long as the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable.

What's the quote about "To believe you can have infinite exponential growth in a finite world means you are either crazy, or an economist."

Re:Government to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year 84 perc... by MarkMc on Monday February 05, 2018 @12:01AM (#16306710)
Actually my statement doesn't depend on exponential growth. If in future GDP were to switch from exponential to logarithmic growth, debt would still be serviceable as long as it also switched to logarithmic growth.
Re:Government to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year 84 perc... by hn_throwaway_99 on Tuesday February 06, 2018 @05:15PM (#16320428)
Come on, that's silly. At some point, for all intents and purposes in the real world, logarithmic growth would essentially mean "no growth". Splitting hairs between the continuous math and the math to a reasonable level of precision doesn't add clarity to your statement.
Re:Government to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year 84 perc... by MarkMc on Wednesday February 07, 2018 @01:57PM (#16327019)
OK maybe over hundreds of years US GDP will go from exponential growth to linear growth, to logarithmic growth, to eventually "no growth". If total debt mirrors this trajectory, can't the US government continue repaying its debts over this period, even at the "no growth" stage?
Re:Government to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year 84 perc... by ryanwaggoner on Sunday February 04, 2018 @10:54PM (#16306489)
Infinite != indefinite :)