I'd thought we'd reached, or will in short order, the debt to GDP ratio where, historically, countries sooner or later repudiate their debt one way or another (

I'd thought we'd reached, or will in short order, the debt to GDP ratio where, historically, countries sooner or later repudiate their debt one way or another (which of course includes inflation). Of course the Federal Government isn't a "giant household", it's worse in many respects, with the decision makers generally not thinking past the next election, whereas there's a chance in a household the elders will be thinking of the children's futures (things like Social Security, and the general Zeitgeist that the government won't do stupid things like repudiate the debt, have of course helped to sunder the bonds between generations, something I think a lot of "elders" will heartily regret in due course).