The article argues that recent executive overreach and politicization have severely undermined established norms of U.S. civil-military relations. To restore professional standards, the incoming Congress must actively exercise its oversight powers, moving beyond mere criticism to demanding transparency in defense policy and personnel decisions. Key reforms include enforcing meritocratic promotion processes, requiring documented justification for senior officer removals, and preventing the partisan use of the military. These actions are crucial for bolstering public trust and ensuring the military remains a nonpartisan instrument of civilian control.
Inflation Can’t Solve America’s Debt Problem, President Trump
English Summary
The article analyzes President Trump's assertion that inflation can solve the national debt by devaluing fixed-rate bonds and boosting nominal GDP. While acknowledging that inflation historically reduces the real burden of debt, the analysis argues that this benefit is temporary, as new borrowing requires higher interest rates, negating any windfall. Crucially, the report notes that inflation cannot solve the structural fiscal problem, as mandatory entitlement programs (like Social Security and Medicare) are spending commitments that cannot be inflated away. Therefore, the underlying mismatch between growing public spending and tax revenue necessitates deep structural fiscal reforms rather than relying on monetary policy.
中文摘要
本文分析了川普總統關於通貨膨脹能透過貶值固定利率債券和提高名目GDP來解決國家債務的主張。儘管承認通貨膨脹在歷史上確實會降低債務的實質負擔，但分析指出，此種益處是暫時的，因為新的借款需要更高的利率，從而抵消任何意外的利好。報告關鍵指出，通貨膨脹無法解決結構性的財政問題，因為強制性的福利計畫（如社會安全和醫療保險）是無法透過通膨來「稀釋」的支出承諾。因此，公共支出增長與稅收收入之間潛在的不匹配，要求進行深層次的結構性財政改革，而非依賴貨幣政策。
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