The comparison between US and European credit worthiness is interesting. I think there might be an even simpler and more logical way to explain it: European cou

The comparison between US and European credit worthiness is interesting. I think there might be an even simpler and more logical way to explain it: European countries can only tax future income while the US government can tax income in the past, at least that of those who cannot protect themselves against inflation. Since the credit worthiness of a country ultimately depends on its ability to tax its citizens you will see a very different market response to the same debt level.