Detachment and Apathy

I think I see your point now about societies and sets. I guess I'm kind of paranoid about the word "society", probably because I have seen my mother and others use it as a way to get people to do something, or not do something, that is not covered by law or other duly constituted authority.

Detachment and apathy are not exactly the same thing. Apathy is for when you just don't care, while detachment is for when you care, but there isn't much you can do about it, so there's no point in getting all worked up over it. It's also for when you've got other things on your plate and you can't do everything. When most of that racial stuff was going on, we were just kids. It didn't effect us directly in our daily lives. We read about it and saw it on TV, but it wasn't part of our immediate environment. People around us talked about it, and apparently that bothered you more than it did me. People talk about a lot of things, and a good share of it is just bull shit. Another reason I never got involved in it was that I knew I would be leaving Chicago after graduation and, let's face it, it is an urban problem. That thing in Marquette Park happened when I was in the army and, by the time I heard about it, it was old news. I learned more about it from the book than I ever knew before. Looking back on it, I don't know whether or not I would have gotten involved if it had happened while I was living there. I certainly wouldn't have been throwing rocks with the White guys, but I don't think I would have cared enough to go marching with the Blacks. Be that as it may, I still don't understand how you can feel guilty about the actions of other people. You didn't do it, they did it, so let them feel guilty about it.

According to National Geographic, about one third of the national debt is held by foreigners, one third is held by U.S. citizens, and another one third is just government agencies borrowing from each other. I believe that the foreigners get the same interest rates as the U.S. citizens, it all depends when you buy the bonds. Actually, there are three classifications of government debt: notes, which are short term instruments, generally less than a year, bills, which are medium term, but I forget how many years, and bonds, which are longer term. All three are commonly referred to as "treasuries". The government periodically issues treasuries and sells them at auction to the lowest bidder, that is whoever offers to charge the least amount of interest. Most of these buyers are dealers who will eventually sell the treasuries to other people. I think the interest rate stays the same no matter who is holding the paper at the moment. People buy and sell these things for more or less than they paid for them but, when the government redeems them, they will only pay the price they were originally sold for. Interest on other debt, like home mortgages, might run approximately parallel to the prevailing interest on treasuries, but it doesn't necessarily have to. The only interest rate directly controlled by the Federal Reserve is the Fed Funds Rate, which is the rate that banks charge each other to borrow money for very short periods of time. All other interest rates are generally determined by market forces, but the Fed can influence them by buying or selling government debt, thus manipulating the supply and demand.

A fake government shutdown, or the threat of one, can send both the stock and bond markets into a tizzy, but they soon recover after the crisis is over. I remember once they were talking about a shutdown, but it didn't happen. One of the bond rating services downgraded U.S. treasuries slightly in anticipation, and it sent the stock market tumbling. Ironically, most of the money being pulled out of the stock market was being put into treasuries which was exactly where the perceived problem originated. You'd think it would have gone the other was around, but it didn't. Of course a real shutdown would have devastating effects on the economy, but they're not going to do that. All they will do is make a public spectacle of themselves like they did before.

My opinion of Trump has not changed. I will not vote for him in the primary and, if he gets the nomination, I might vote for the Libertarian candidate. Unless, of course, I think that's exactly what they want me to do, in which case I will vote for Trump just to spite them.