Republicans and Democrats alike agree that the country desperately needs better infrastructure, but cannot agree on how to pay for it.
I don’t believe this is true. Any congresscritter can tell you how to “pay for” anything that is beneficial to American productivity. Congress passes legislation and after the President signs it instruction is given to Treasury to fund the project. Treasury then co-ordinates with its clearing bank, the Federal Reserve, and the needed funds appear in Treasury’s spending account via keystrokes marking up that account at the Fed.
Taxation and borrowing have never “funded” any spending by Congress, as it is impossible to collect or borrow what doesn’t yet exist. Both are inflation control, not funding mechanisms and the proceeds of both are destroyed by the debt that was created in the government sector (Treasury) as a “tracking entry” only. This means that money cannot exist in the government sector and debt the taxpayers are responsible for cannot exist in the private sector. This separation that allows money to exist at all is why the Fed is technically a private institution. Anyone who understands sectoral balances in dual entry spreadsheet accounting (used worldwide to track money) should know this by second nature.
The concept of the monopoly issuer of the nation’s currency needing to ‘find” money is in error and is doing great harm to our country. We have been free from the gold standard long enough now that we should expect our leaders to have adjusted to our fiat currency and made the best of the policy space that affords us. Without a commodity or fixed exchange rate pinning our currency’s value Congress can “afford” anything that is for sale priced in the dollar it creates at will without incurring “debt”. “Monetary” inflation is not possible unless all resources have been utilized and labor is at full employment.
Under that, only resource scarcity or supply chain problems can cause individual items to rise in price, as production will always be increased to capture available demand (currency) prior to raising prices in a competitive system. Those items/commodities would increase regardless of the money supply. As long as Congress refuses to comply with the Constitutional mandate that it create (coin) the money “for the general welfare” our nation will continue to degrade and the level of inequality will increase. The thought of Congress going, hat in hand, to the wealthy landowners and industrialists for crumbs to fund the government is so contrary to the designs of the founders that it should be ridiculed and rejected outright.
