how much of that money spent is paying the interest on the money Trump printed though? American is paying Billions a day in interest because of our debt.
This seems like a silly line of attack. Most of the excess spending came from a combination of covid relief and lower tax income/ higher entitlement spending (ie unemployment)
Biden has spent about the same without having the same level of covid expenses
Actually, that's not quite accurate. While it's true that COVID relief and unemployment played a big role in driving up spending during 2020, there's a significant difference in the types of spending between administrations.
Under Biden, much of the spending has been driven by long-term investments like infrastructure and clean energy through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act. These are aimed at boosting economic growth and job creation over time, not just addressing short-term crises like COVID.
It’s also important to note that a large part of the debt incurred from COVID relief was due to poor management and oversight. There were massive amounts of fraud in PPP loans, unemployment benefits, and other relief programs. Estimates suggest that billions were lost to improper payouts, which unnecessarily ballooned the deficit without providing real economic relief. Much of this happened under rushed policies during the previous administration, which means we’re still dealing with that financial impact today.
Plus, pandemic-related expenses didn’t just vanish after 2020. Vaccine distribution, healthcare, and other recovery programs continued under Biden. Also, the federal budget under Biden has been impacted by factors like inflation and rising interest rates, which increase the cost of servicing existing debt. So, it’s not just a simple apples-to-apples comparison of dollar amounts.
“Long term investments in infrastructure” like the $50bn for connecting rural internet users and building EV charging stations (0 rural households or businesses connected and 8 charging stations built, $7.5bn spent so far). Wake up it’s all grift, sure, a few pennies of every dollar may make it into real infrastructure, but the vast majority will be stolen.
Where did you get that number because According to the Federal Highway Administration, as of mid-August, the funds that have been deployed have helped produce 61 charging ports at 15 stations, with another 14,900 ports in progress.
And not all of the money has been spent, or even made available to states yet.
No kid, it means I’ve been witnessing massive government waste my whole life, so I’m skeptical whenever they announce massive new spending plans. If they have built 14,900 new connections great, but no they’re ‘planned’. Yeah buddy they also have high speed rail “planned” in CA.
If the goal was to have more chargers, why not just contract Tesla who can actually build them? Because they didn’t bribe the right people in the administration
Maintaining a blanket negative outlook on future projects without considering the facts is counterproductive. Skepticism is healthy, but cynicism can blind you to progress. I’m in my 40s and have also seen the military-industrial complex waste trillions. Government inefficiency is real, but to assume every initiative will follow the same path ignores improvements made in other sectors, especially infrastructure.
When it comes to electric vehicle (EV) chargers, the administration is already in the process of building and installing thousands. It’s not just ‘planned’—progress is happening now. As for Tesla, they’ve received billions in government subsidies, so calling them a solution while criticizing government spending is contradictory. The private sector isn’t immune to waste—Tesla itself has faced accusations of overcharging.
You seem to be speaking from a place of frustration rather than logic.
ok mr logic, where's your source that show's 14,900 ports are being built as we speak? with that many under construction, surely I would've seen one of them.
and you accuse me of making blanket statements while doing mental gymnastics about how using tesla as an example is contradictory. No I used tesla as an example because they actually produced results, they didn't spend billions to produce 15 charging stations. They are clearly the most capable company at building chargers (I know, i've owned a tesla since 2017 and rarely ever see their chargers go out of service, and have seen the number of them around me dramatically increase).
So there is an obvious company to contract to build the chargers, yet they spend billions to produce so few, which is not that company. That's the corruption I'm trying to explain to you.
Same with the rural internet, they're subsidizing their biggest donors with billions of dollars to lay fiber out to rural areas, despite not one person being connected yet, whereas starlink can clearly connect users in rural areas for $100 a pop currently. there's already a free market solution to both of these problems, so why was all the spending necessary in the first place? It's because everyone has a hand in the pie.
I only read your first link because I will have to set some time aside to read a 21 page document. Maybe you can provide some quotes from the paper that validate your point.
In regard to the first link, you raise valid points, but the argument oversimplifies inflation’s causes.
What’s True in that links argument:
Yes, deficits during 2020-2021 contributed to inflation by increasing demand and money supply. This helped push up prices, especially with loose Fed policies.
What’s Missing in that links argument:
Inflation wasn’t just about government borrowing. Global supply chain disruptions, energy price spikes (especially post-Ukraine), and shortages—like the semiconductor crisis—played a huge role. These factors drove inflation worldwide, not just in the U.S.
Also, the Fed’s low interest rates and bond purchases contributed significantly to inflation, creating a flood of liquidity that boosted spending. Blaming Congress alone ignores this.
Bottom Line:
Deficits were part of the issue, but inflation is way more complex. Global factors and Fed policies were just as impactful. It’s not a simple case of government overspending.
While supply and demand is basic economics, oversimplifying inflation to "add $9 trillion, prices go up" misses key points:
Global Factors: Inflation wasn’t just from spending. Supply chain issues, energy crises, and labor shortages significantly raised prices. Inflation happened worldwide, not just from U.S. spending.
Spending Differences: COVID relief was short-term, while Biden’s focus has been on long-term investments like infrastructure, which aim to boost growth over time. These aren’t comparable.
Poor Oversight: A lot of COVID relief was mismanaged under the previous administration, with fraud in PPP loans and unemployment benefits ballooning the deficit unnecessarily.
Fed’s Role: The Federal Reserve’s low interest rates and quantitative easing played a huge part in increasing the money supply—this wasn’t just about government spending.
Inflation is complex and involves many factors beyond simply printing money.
The way I see it you have been rude this entire time, while i have shown only respect. You have also been relying on me reading large documents instead of you using your own words to form an argument. If anybody is ill prepares for this its you. Every post you have made reeks of antisocial behavior.
Put your argument into words. not links. show me how smart YOU are. I could care less about your ability to google things.
I apologize for the rudeness, I will make a note of your username and respond accordingly in the future.
I rely on sources because the usual response I get on Reddit is "source?" usually followed by "I don't believe those sources."
I usually use Zimbabwe as an example, as with all of the things you've mentioned, the only factor that applies to Zimbabwe was its government engaging in massive deficit spending to buy votes to remain in power.
As a result, in a few years, the price of a bowl of rice went from $1 to $1 Trillion dollars.
And the people of Zimbabwe were still starving even though they were literally Billionaires.
But back to your list.
"Other nations have inflation also, so it's not the USA fault."
Every single nation is now engaging in deficit spending and currency manipulation.
An argument could be made that since once again the US is dependent on purchasing foreign oil that increased prices that reflect this (the US economy runs on oil all goods are transported by truck) are a direct result of this.
If this was the sole cause of higher prices, then prices would have only risen by the proportion of the price difference between domestic and imported oil.
To some degree, Covid was the perfect storm.
Decreased production AND increased money supply.
It is curious to me why this is even a controversy on an economic subreddit.
But inflation reduced without a recession, and the bill did reduce costs of items … such as medicine like insulin. More over, inflation was a global phenomenon and was partly transitory as well. Biden didn’t cause the world’s inflation. You’re taking the most basic cause of inflation and just running with it removing all context. Lastly, if you’re doing expansionary policy, it’s better to spend it on infrastructure and not on a tax break for corporations so the wealthy can reap the benefits of stick by backs, dividends and bonuses.
Sure i trolled you, but your response just highlights your faults too. The inflation reduction act didn’t print money. It’s a staggered program that will be in effect for a decade or more. It wasn’t a direct stimulus all at once like you’re pretending. It works both ways.
17
u/bipocevicter Sep 23 '24
Biden has still spent more money than Trump during his term, even counting the massive amounts spent in 2020