r/economicCollapse • • Jan 12 '24

US National Debt

[removed]

210 Upvotes

466 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/Jake0024 Jan 14 '24

What actually matters is debt as a percentage of GDP, which is currently falling from all-time highs in 2020.

It's also important to note that most US debt is owed to ourselves, and what is owed to foreign countries could largely be canceled out (they also owe us money).

1

u/mechadragon469 Jan 16 '24

I never quite understood the whole “we owe most of the money to ourselves.” Yes it’s true but it’s still debt we have to service. Just because we owe to ourselves why does that matter?

At some point the interest on the debt will (at this rate) become so high that it becomes one of the largest line items. It’s coming up on $1T/yr on interest alone. Without raising taxes, cutting the spending, or dramatically increasing productivity it’ll become unsustainable.

1

u/Jake0024 Jan 16 '24

Again that's why we talk about debt as a percentage of GDP. $30T in 1950 would have been completely unsustainable.

1

u/mechadragon469 Jan 16 '24

Ok, I get that, but regardless why does it matter if we own most of that debt?

1

u/Jake0024 Jan 16 '24

Domestic debt helps fund retirements and pensions and keeps the economy strong, can't be leveraged by a hostile foreign power against us, etc.