eli5: Why is the US commonly called the “wealthiest country” if we have 30T in debt?

Question

eli5: Why is the US commonly called the “wealthiest country” if we have 30T in debt?

In: 5

Answer 1

The debt is issued in US dollars. The United States controls the issuance of dollars. Repayment of debt is always possible under the US’s terms. The fact that the US can spend “30 trillion dollars” of someone else’s money just goes to show how wealthy the country is. People usually only lend to richer folks or people with guaranteed payoffs.