Originally Posted by JonLaw
Originally Posted by Dude
There's always a cap, because at some point the lender loses confidence in the borrower to repay, and if the lender doesn't lose confidence quickly enough, default. It would be somewhat difficult to keep up with the interest payments on $infinity, nevermind pay down the principle.

This is the United States federal government we are talking about.

An entity that issues as much debt as it wants to and poofs billions of dollars into existence on a regular basis.

I know because I watch them poof the money into existence and then I watch the stock market go parabolic.

I also watch money being poofed into existence and funneled into my office on a regular basis because I sign the poofed checks.

Key word being "as much as it wants." It's being run by a body so committed to limiting debt that it passed its own debt cap on itself, enforced by automatic spending cuts so dramatic it would NEVER ACTUALLY allow them to actually happen, cross their hearts. Because that worked out so well for Dr. Strangelove.

Also, nobody beats them in an arms race.