Ultimately, UBI by any means would help pay down our debt.

@Intuition I assume you are going to bring up the fiscal multiplier.

@MADcHATTER I understand the points you raise with regard to the duty of congress and the issues with the Fed. However, $16 trillion owed to citizens means that those should be the first to be repaid. Not every citizen is a holder of a US Treasury bond/note and simply discharging the debt is a great disservice to those who have been smart enough to save some of their own funds. Particularly if the reasoning is to cover those who have not managed to handle their own affairs. It is literally punishing behavior that is desirable working, saving and investing and rewarding behavior that is despicable, doing nothing for yourself and being a burden on society (assuming you are able bodied and minded).

@MADcHATTER If an investor holds a bond that is called then they did not lose any money. The issuer had the option to call so the investor new that going in. Did they lose interest payments going forward yes, but they got their money back. This is something that is known when you purchase a bond that is callable. Where as you were mentioning discharging the debt - so essentially limited or zero principal returned. What impact does that have on the US’s credit rating? Not good.
And yes you do pay for accrued interest when you purchase a bond, that is simply how they trade. Whether it is a corporate, treasury, CMO, ABS and so on. Who is getting the accrued interest depends on who you are purchasing the bonds from.
Registered bonds are technically safer for the investor as they no longer have to physically hold the bond to send in their coupons for the interest payment. It is basically automated.
With regard to the Fed, definitely some areas of intrigue with the organization as a whole. Being that they effectively set interest rates is a huge issue in my book. Add in the fact that they have not been the best stewards of doing so. It gives them a lot of power over our money supply, exchange rates and value of the federal reserve notes that we carry in our pockets. The fact that they are not a part of the government is a huge issue as well (although some could say this is a perk since they don’t have to give into political pressure). The effects of their can have massive impacts on our world and how much we pay whether people realize it or not.
And yes you are correct our cirremch has not been backed for a long time. However, it is a store of value and used to establish price on a lot of items across the globe. It can be easily exchanged for goods and services and that is a crucial part of being money. Now, I would love to have our currency back by gold. It reduces inflation and let’s you know their is something there if things go capitalism. Also, it forces those in charge of fiscal and monetary policy to think of the effects of what they are doing with our money. Unfortunately, at this time that is not the case.
Now, how is greatly increasing the money supply by cutting everyone a check for zero output beneficial for Americans?

@MADcHATTER ok, so instead of going in circles on issues with the Fed - which again I understand. How is discharging our debt to revalue our currency not stealing? Also, what impact would universal basic income have? Are any of them negative?

@MADcHATTER couldn’t agree more!