Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by Krasnol 484 days ago
National debt is not like credit card dept...at all. There is nobody coming to get your car if you don't pay up.

My god...this is such a common misunderstanding, they should use a different word already...

2 comments

Well, if the government starts defaulting on payments, then bond rates go to infinity while the domestic currency goes to zero.

The US is currently defaulting on all sorts of debts, and the deficit has nothing to do with it. I wonder why its credit rating hasn’t been slashed yet.

The US is not defaulting on bond payments and thus bond interest rates have not increased and the creditworthiness of bonds has not changed.

As I think you are hinting at, the US is in the process of cancelling many contracts deemed no longer in the interest of the country under a new administration. Contracts can represent a form of obligation similar to debt and there are many companies who will not sign contracts with the government due to the complications involved (or who will request very favorable terms). Unfortunately, there is not really a good rating mechanism (at least that I am aware of) for rating entities that is risky to enter into a contractional relationship with - this stuff is often passed around via word of mouth.

All debt is functionally similar in that it represents an obligation from the borrower to the creditor generally with interest which must be paid off in full or consequences will follow. Analogies can recognize similarities in a situation which can help to illustrate a point even when situations are not identical. But sure, no one is coming to confiscate air force one if the US doesn't pay off it's debt :D.