"If you're Greece and you can't issue your own currency, your national debt matters. But the U.S. can always issue new currency to cover its liabilities." Henc

"If you're Greece and you can't issue your own currency, your national debt matters. But the U.S. can always issue new currency to cover its liabilities." Hence the antipathy to joining Euro in UK. See the European Exchange Rate Mechanism and Black Wednesday. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Wednesday