eli5 If the U.S. is in so much debt, how do they remain one of the most powerful & influential countries in the world?

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I feel like the United States is always meddling in other countries affairs and yet still climbing further into debt. Kind of like someone giving you advice on a golf course who is terrible themself. Is it the military presence? Economic relationships?

In: Economics

27 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Simply put, it should be viewed as debt to GDP ratio.

Imagine a millionaire, they might have tens of thousands of dollars of active debt, but because their income is so high, it only represents a tiny fraction of their worth.

Where as someone that is living off minimum wage, if they were to have that same debt, it would be crushing and almost certainly defaulted upon.

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