The American Thread of Mid-Term Elections (2010)

[Khuutra]

HappySqurriel said:

SmokedHostage said:

Obviously, a nation that's destroyed can't repay debts.

I think it all depends on what you mean by "destroyed" ...

Much like pushing an individual near to bankruptcy with consumer debt, the United States could end up with so much debt that their standard of living fell dramatically; and this income was effectively being transferred to China perpetually. In many ways you could define this as economic ruin, or that the economy was destroyed, without ever preventing the United States from making the necessary interest payments on their debt.

Some part of me thinks we would just default rather than go into crippling financial ruin that affects the average citizen's quality of life.