This Is One Scary Clock

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by BleedBurgundy

Here's a stupid question, but I'm going to ask it anyway. What happens if the US just says, we're not going to pay anybody and anyone who has a problem with that can talk to the Department of Defense? Is our GNP insufficient to pay for our various programs, if you take all lending out of the picture?

It's not dissimilar to someone deciding not to pay back a student loan. You can do it, but your credit will take a major hit, and any time you want to borrow money for something ever again you'll pay a much higher interest rate.

If we blow off China, the next time we need to borrow money from someone (and we will) we'll have to pay a much higher interest rate. It would crush us in the long run.

The only way we can go without borrowing money from people is if we cut governmental spending to the point that we're no longer running a deficit. Which is a lot.