When the US government has a debt there is wealth out in the non-US government above what clearing the balance sheet would allow. It’s actually a measure of the

When the US government has a debt there is wealth out in the non-US government above what clearing the balance sheet would allow. It’s actually a measure of the governmental contribution to social wealth. The pickle is in making the other side of the balance sheet positively affect the wealth of the nation the greatest. “Or it should be.” A surplus would be the government taking wealth in from the non-US government side. Something that sounds a lot more like governmental corruption and waste than the other option. Exactly equalling it out would make the entire economy zero sum.