We haven't and don't pay back ANY principle, only interest. And, we only borrow more.
We haven’t and don’t pay back ANY principle, only interest.
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We have no interest in paying it back and we don’t have any principles.
> Won’t be paying back a plug nickle of it. <
Eventually the interest alone on that debt will be greater than all the discretionary money the Federal government has available. It’s inevitable. Then what?
I can’t see them repudiating that debt. So I’m guessing they will do what the Weimar Republic did: fire up the printing presses, and pay their bills with wildly inflated paper currency.
Given that Congress has no interest in spending responsibly, that will be their only option.
As a side note, if interest rates rise, that day of reckoning will come sooner. That’s probably one reason the Fed is reluctant to raise rates.
At some point in the near future the interest on the debt will consume a majority of the annual budget. We will have to keep printing money, thus making the problem even worse. A vicious cycle ending in disaster.