Re:Will America's debt doom us?
by gnode on Monday September 23, 2019 @11:15AM
(#21049663)
It's more nuanced than that. The debt/GDP number is talking about future dollars above the divider, and present dollars below the divider. FutureUS$ / (PresentUS$ / yr) is meaningless.
The government could choose to reduce the productivity value of the debt by reducing the value of the dollar (quantitative easing), or numerous other monetary policy levers it can pull. How many years of "productivity we owe" isn't a sensible metric when it's not to be paid now, and we can manipulate the number between now and maturity.
The government could choose to reduce the productivity value of the debt by reducing the value of the dollar (quantitative easing), or numerous other monetary policy levers it can pull. How many years of "productivity we owe" isn't a sensible metric when it's not to be paid now, and we can manipulate the number between now and maturity.