There are essentially 2 kinds of debt

[Jackpine Radical]

49. Here is the revised version of this little essay that I submitted as an LTTE.

Now that the Tea Party-inspired hostage crisis in government is over with, the next battle we're going to be hearing about will revolve around the national debt, and the deficit spending from which the debt arises. Before anyone starts throwing bombs over the issue, it would be well to review a couple of simple facts.

There are essentially two kinds of debt (or maybe more accurately, two poles on the debt spectrum).

One kind of debt occurs when you borrow a lot of money to take all your rowdy friends on a year-long binge and casino tour.

On a national level, this equates to going into the hole while building a military you don't need, fighting stupid wars, pouring Treasury money into bonuses for the bankers who already pocketed billions while gambling away your inheritance, and so on.

The other kind of debt is where you borrow money to improve your house, get an education, and fix your car so you can get to work.

On a national level, this would equate to borrowing in order to put people to work building a 21st-century infrastructure that includes a high-speed transcontinental rail system, providing the whole country with broadband Internet access, building a green energy network, setting up a true national health system, and similar things that will result in improving people's lives and healing the planet.

Conservatives typically favor the former kind of debt, and progressives, the latter kind.

Conservatives have for decades played a game of indulging in unfunded spending binges when in power, and then using the debt they run up with nothing to show for it as an excuse to prevent the progressives from creating the second kind of debt, the kind that advances our national well-being.

And I'm getting really fed up with this stupid game.