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The US government has a long history of repaying it's debts. I'd say that can continue indefinitely, so long as the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable.
by MarkMc 9y ago
The US government has a long history of repaying it's debts. I'd say that can continue indefinitely, so long as the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable.
- im3w1l 9y agoUSG have a long history of servicing it's debts by taking on more debt. Not that there is anything unusual with that pattern.
- Feniks 9y agoThe US never pays back, they re finance the debts. Ad infinitum. I mean does anyone think that at this point the US could STOP the deficit? Let alone turn it into a surplus and start buying back debt? US is too big to fail and rich people have to put their money somewhere. At least with US Treasury bonds you get a small but reliable return. So the train keeps going.
- fencepost 9y agoIt happened under Clinton, admittedly with the advantage of a roaring economy. I won't rule out completely out, though from today's viewpoint it certainly doesn't look promising.
- Feniks 9y agoWell my country DOES try to balance the budget because otherwise the interest rates on the bonds we put out has to increase. But the US is special, it is virtually exempt from the normal laws of economics due to its superpower status.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y ago> I'd say that can continue indefinitely, so long as the debt-to-GDP ratio remains manageable. What's the quote about "To believe you can have infinite exponential growth in a finite world means you are either crazy, or an economist."
- ryanwaggoner 9y agoInfinite != indefinite :)
- MarkMc 9y agoActually my statement doesn't depend on exponential growth. If in future GDP were to switch from exponential to logarithmic growth, debt would still be serviceable as long as it also switched to logarithmic growth.
- hn_throwaway_99 9y agoCome on, that's silly. At some point, for all intents and purposes in the real world, logarithmic growth would essentially mean "no growth". Splitting hairs between the continuous math and the math to a reasonable level of precision doesn't add clarity to your statement.
- MarkMc 9y agoOK maybe over hundreds of years US GDP will go from exponential growth to linear growth, to logarithmic growth, to eventually "no growth". If total debt mirrors this trajectory, can't the US government continue repaying its debts over this period, even at the "no growth" stage?