why cant the government print as much money as our economy might need?

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Asked by kfchmommy 9 months ago in education

someone please explain to me why the government can only print so much money. if they are the ones in control and our economy is so broke, why dont they just print more money and put it into circulation. i mean if i was able to print my own money id never be broke. its not like anyone can tell the government you cant print anymore money. right? this is something i have never gotten a grasp of. does it not make sense to just print more money and get our economy out of debt. this plays along with the fact that they are saying by the time i retire there wont be any money left for me to draw social security. why wont there be? if every one is paying there own social security what is the government doing with this money in order for it to be gone when it comes time to draw it?

Additional Details added 9 months ago

i believe the government needs new accountants..lol..

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davalt David Altman / manufacturing-paper industry

Answered 9 months ago

The money that is printed and in circulation is only a representation of our country's assets. Printing more paper money will not actually give our country more money, just more paper. The paper the money is printed on is worthless without something to back it up. Let's say for instance you have 10 pieces of gold. You print 10 pieces of paper to represent those pieces of gold. No matter how much more paper you print, you still only have 10 pieces of gold. The paper by itself is worthless.

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All Answers

mboutilier Marilou Boutilier / Psychological Profiler

Answered 9 months ago

You can't just print money to pay off the national debt. It doesn't work that way! The government has an income just like we all do. Tax dollars, and purchases of government bonds and securities, along with loans are what keeps the economy going. But, when the government spends more of this money than they bring in, they have a debt. If monies from social security are being depleted, it's because the government dipped into this reserve and can't pay it back. Governments can't print counterfeit money any more than you or I can! I've simplified this as much as possible so you can understand this economic problem.

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Richard / Retired Dentist

Answered 9 months ago

You are not paying your own social security. True, you have an account with your name on it, but the money you pay goes to pay my social security. Thank you for working so hard for me. Will your children work so hard for you? Social security is a big Ponzi scheme that if a private person did it, they would go to jail for fraud.

Suppose you bought in island and set up your own government and printed your own money. But if nobody wanted your money, no matter how much you printed you still would be broke.

Printing more money by the government just devalues all the money. It just buys less. The government will honor its commitment to you, but it will be in money that won't buy much or more likely they will just raise the retirement age till you are dead before you get much. They are already doing both these things

If more money comes in to social security than they pay out, the government prints an IOU (called a special social security bond) to itself and then it spends the money on other things. All this has become a political issue and so far most people believe the lies they are told. Too bad for us.

Also note that there are other ways to control the money supply than by printing money. The Federal Reserve Bank does most of this.
The government does not produce much of anything. The money it gets must come from taxes. If it doesn't get enough taxes, it must borrow the difference.

You asked a great question and the answer fills books. I hope this quickie answers some of your questions.

Additional Details added 9 months ago

You are right about the new accountants. Their forecasts are off quite a bit. LOL

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