{"items": [{"author": "David German", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/111229345142780712481", "anchor": "gp-1355076295042", "service": "gp", "text": "\"Is there some sort of blame command for the law where you can look up when a particular bit of text was added, and from there look into why it might have been put there?\"\n
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\nI think you're looking for the Office of the Law Revision Counsel, but you're likely to find the quality of the tools disappointing.\n
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\nhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Code#Codification_process\n
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\nhttp://uscode.house.gov/", "timestamp": 1355076295}, {"author": "Hollis", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/438578046209117?comment_id=438585812875007", "anchor": "fb-438585812875007", "service": "fb", "text": "I know there is for NYS laws--WestLaw and LexisNexus both have text exegesis things like the \"blame\" command you're talking about. I don't know about CFR or whatever governs the Treasury though.", "timestamp": "1355076573"}, {"author": "George", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/438578046209117?comment_id=438626666204255", "anchor": "fb-438626666204255", "service": "fb", "text": "Well the debt ceiling is basically the stupidest thing ever. Congress tells the executive branch what the budget should be and passes it as a law. And has also passed a law that says the executive can't actually borrow money to implement the law they just passed. So the executive branch then needs to find a way to enforce contradictory laws.", "timestamp": "1355082642"}, {"author": "Todd", "source_link": "https://plus.google.com/112947709146257842066", "anchor": "gp-1355290098862", "service": "gp", "text": "\"Normally printing money is a bad way to finance government operations because it causes inflation: it's basically forcing the people who already have money to give the government a nominally zero-interest loan. Interest rates are practically zero, however, so is there any downside to forcing the government to fund itself through seigniorage instead of bonds?\"\n
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\nHow does printing money have a different bottom-line impact on inflation than issuing bonds? Issuing bonds still increases the effective amount of currency in circulation.\n
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\nMoreover, low interest rates don't change the fact that increasing the money supply means more dollars chasing the same amount of goods & services. You'll still get inflation.\n
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\nAs far as I'm aware, there is no real economic difference between physically printing/minting and issuing electronic paper. It's just which form of abstraction you'd prefer (the electronic version has the advantage of being cheaper, at least).\n
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\nThere may be a legal difference, as you note, but so far as I can tell, that just makes it a bureaucratic/political strategy, not an economic one.", "timestamp": 1355290098}]}