It seems to me that people will believe the US is good for its debts until we behave like it isn't. Japan, of course you know, has debt like 300% of GDP so cl

It seems to me that people will believe the US is good for its debts until we behave like it isn't. Japan, of course you know, has debt like 300% of GDP so clearly some kinds of countries are able to manage even ridiculous amounts. The problem though, is that the US seems to be behaving like it may not be good for its debts lately. Not that it can't outgrow them, but just that things are getting more worrisome payment-wise. You remember we used to have budget crises and shutdowns every once in a while (every few years), decades ago. But now it happens like every 2 years, and it seems like it's getting worse. And you never think that disaster will strike until it does. One of these days we're going to miss a bond payment, because some leader will want to "show everyone", and people will be shook, I think, when everyone realizes that the US is not some special country that can never default on its debt. That will be a sad day. And it's all the more likely when everything is 50:50 paralyzed -- very easy for one bad step to take us over the brink while everyone is unable to do anything. I'm no fan of the ridiculous right wing "republicans" who are playing games in Congress, but they do (by accident) have one thing right. We are really far from balancing the budget[0], and both the spending and the debt are getting worse over time with demographic pressure. Not that "balancing the budget" is a requirement in the simplistic household way that they or the public generally think. Incurring debt has its purposes for a growing sovereign nation. But the way we're doing it / reasons we're doing it for is sleepwalking our way into a big hole. Unless we're willing to behave as a country like it's not a problem, it is a problem, and growing. [0] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/06/upshot/balancing-budget-painful-spending-cuts.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/03/06/upshot/balanc...