How Will You Pay for It?

Here is the best answer to the question posed in the title. I invite every progressive political candidate to use it in 2018 and future elections.

Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution of the United States gives Congress the sole power to coin United States money. Congress delegates, but does not give away, this authority to the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, which Congress created in 1913 as the Central Bank of the United States, and the primary banking agent of the Treasury Department. The 12 Fed regional banks issue US reserves (additions to reserve account balances), to all Fed account holders including the US Treasury spending account.

Just as Congress created the Fed in 1913, and empowered it to create reserves by adding to account balances, it can order the Fed to add to the balances in the Treasury spending account. So, at the end of every bill ordering the Treasury to spend on the programs Congress approves, we’ll also order the Federal Reserve to immediately increase the balance in the Treasury spending account by the amount we’ve ordered the Treasury to spend; and we’ll also order the Federal Reserve to increase the same balance by enough for Treasury to pay back the portion of the national debt that will fall due during the period covered by our spending.

These orders in spending bills, called Overt Congressional Financing (OCF) will provide the reserves Treasury needs to pay for (1) all new spending without increasing the “national debt” (the debt-subject-to-the limit) and (2) also paying back parts of it as it falls due, until the national debt is eventually extinguished. OCF will end debt ceiling crises and due to repayment of a large portion of outstanding debt within 6 months will make it clear to the public that the unpopular national debt is not only not a real problem, but is also well on its way to extinction. It will also make it clear to the public that the spending programs I’m running on can easily be “paid for” by the Congress of the United States without disruption of the economy or raising Federal taxes to “pay for” Federal spending.