Is the US (America) in debt?

[August1991]

1. If one person is in debt, another person has a claim.

1a. We cannot borrow from Martians. The Earth is not in debt.

2. If you had/owned something - say, a truck, where would you put the truck: China or America?

2a. America. (In China, who knows what happens to the truck.)

3. America can tax faster than it borrows. 

[paxamericana]

No, we are the world currency reserve. We can print as much money as we want.

[August1991]

You Americans fought in Vietnam - and won the Cold War.

I reckon Putin has a better view of this.

[August1991]

3 minutes ago, paxamericana said:

No, we are the world currency reserve. We can print as much money as we want.

True. Why?

You Americans can create wealth faster than your various governments can borrow/spend it.

[paxamericana]

6 minutes ago, August1991 said:

governments can borrow/spend it.

The majority of public spending is on the Medicare and social security pension. Our largest generation is retiring. So Government spending is going up, it hasn’t affected America that much because, again we print money to pay for it. Hence the deficits keep climbing. 

[August1991]

41 minutes ago, paxamericana said:

The majority of public spending is on the Medicare and social security pension. Our largest generation is retiring. So Government spending is going up, it hasn’t affected America that much because, again we print money to pay for it. Hence the deficits keep climbing. 

True, your social security is pay-as-you-go.

But you Americans are creating wealth (your GDP is growing faster) than your governments can spend/borrow.

====

In Quebec, like Norway, we only have a ballast - we have paper claims.

Edited August 28, 2025 by August1991

[suds]

19 hours ago, paxamericana said:

No, we are the world currency reserve. We can print as much money as we want.

Canada, and plenty of other countries can also go on printing sprees but  risk inflation.  Since the USD is the world's largest foreign central bank reserve holding (followed by gold btw), when the US goes on a printing spree the inflation created is more spread out when exported to those other country's USD reserve holdings. It's a good place to be, just don't screw it up by printing too much and have those foreign banks start losing confidence in the dollar and start dumping USD's. Because if that ever happens, all those USD's will likely end up back in the US if there are no buyers. And then you'll witness inflation like you've never witnessed before. Some refer to it as when the chickens come home to roost.

Edited August 28, 2025 by suds

[paxamericana]

3 hours ago, suds said:

printing too much and have those foreign banks start losing confidence in the dollar and start dumping USD's

This won't happen simply because there is no replacement for the USD. As over leveraged as the dollar is, it's still the least over leverage of all the major internationally traded currency. The Euro is going away. The entire EU banking structure is a Greek style debt volcano waiting to explode. 

[cannuck]

11 hours ago, paxamericana said:

This won't happen simply because there is no replacement for the USD. As over leveraged as the dollar is, it's still the least over leverage of all the major internationally traded currency. The Euro is going away. The entire EU banking structure is a Greek style debt volcano waiting to explode. 

The reason the greenback inherited hegemony from the pound was that Euro bankers realized they could go from manipulating the central banks of UK and EU to owning the central bank in a county where they could then control all fiscal and financial policy, legislation, regulation and enforcement.

[paxamericana]

25 minutes ago, cannuck said:

where they could then control all fiscal and financial policy, legislation, regulation and enforcement.

Yes it was a scheme by the French and Brits to for that EU Financial structure. It stuck because they got the Germans to go along with it as well.

Edited August 29, 2025 by paxamericana

[August1991]

On 8/28/2025 at 6:41 PM, suds said:

Canada, and plenty of other countries can also go on printing sprees but  risk inflation.  Since the USD is the world's largest foreign central bank reserve holding (followed by gold btw), when the US goes on a printing spree the inflation created is more spread out when exported to those other country's USD reserve holdings. It's a good place to be, just don't screw it up by printing too much and have those foreign banks start losing confidence in the dollar and start dumping USD's. Because if that ever happens, all those USD's will likely end up back in the US if there are no buyers. And then you'll witness inflation like you've never witnessed before. Some refer to it as when the chickens come home to roost.

You explain the problem.

[August1991]

suds, well said,

In one of my local ATMs in Montreal, I can withdraw US dollars - the Benjamins.

In Asia recently (Vietnam/Laos?), at an ATM, I received US dollars - paper.

Foreign banks hold US dollars for many reasons. It is a reserve currency.