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Any country that doesn't control its deficits doesn't last very long. It gets too weak to maintain its borders, and gets overthrown either by internal forces or
by simonblack 5y ago
Any country that doesn't control its deficits doesn't last very long. It gets too weak to maintain its borders, and gets overthrown either by internal forces or by external forces.
It's same principle as eating fewer calories than you expend. You just waste away. Sooner or later you can't throw off that pneumonia, or you are too weak to defend yourself against thugs.
- tuatoru 5y agoIf the country's GDP growth is greater than the annual deficit, total debt can decrease. I don't think your analogy is right.
- shukantpal 5y agoExcept debt has grown faster than GDP.
- tuatoru 5y agoMy point was: it depends, and analogies with static entities like organisms aren't useful.
- simonblack 5y agoIf the country's GDP growth is greater than the annual deficit, total debt can decrease. Yes, but .... If the US is doing so well, why is the total debt increasing by at least about one trillion dollars per year? (Actually if my memory is correct (I'm too lazy to look, but you can do it if you want), in 2011 the debt was 13 trillion, now it's about 30 trillion, so that's an extra 17 trillion in 10 years therefore the debt is growing at 1.7 trillion per year.)