Eli5: How can some country have trillions of dollar in debt like Japan but still functional without any consequences?

Question

Eli5: How can some country have trillions of dollar in debt like Japan but still functional without any consequences?

In: 101

Answer 1

They just pay about half their taxes straight to the bank which loaned the money. That’s paying off interest. They COULD have twice the… services, welfare, or giant robots. Instead they have debt.

In short: Japan doesn’t piss away as much of their money on the military. They spend about 1% of their GDP on the military while the USA is spending 3.8%. But of course the USA spends a ridiculous amount on the military. This is what we have instead of healthcare.