“For years, we lived in a world where there was basically zero risk premium on U.S. debt,” Jared Bernstein, the former head of Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, told me.
“In four short months, Team Trump has squandered that advantage.”
“For years, we lived in a world where there was basically zero risk premium on U.S. debt,” Jared Bernstein, the former head of Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, told me.
“In four short months, Team Trump has squandered that advantage.”
The US isn’t the only country on the planet. The real question is what are other country’s debt ratios, and how have those impacted their economies? And the answer is there are lots of countries with a similar debt ratio, and many with a higher ratio, and most of those are doing fine.
Of course, if (say, over a period of four years) the US replaced its healthcare system with universal single-payer, cut back on defense spending, and raised taxes on the rich, it might actually get back to a surplus.
But then some Republican would come along and squawk about the “people’s money” and give it all away in tax cuts and just plunge us back into a deficit again.