printBefore Republicans caved on the debt-ceiling, Tom Foreman of the state broadcaster CNN warned that interest rates may climb, if what he billed incorrectly as a default on the debt came to pass.
That would be a much-needed correction. Interest rates should more realistically reflect the risk of lending to the U.S. government—and borrowing in general. That has to happen eventually.
Foreman also worried that the 148 million Americans (!!!) who are currently partaking in government programs will suffer. Not if they bite the bullet and decide, instead, to partake in the economy, if only for minimum wages.
The profligate president fretted too that not enough people will risk buying Treasury bills from the U.S. government. That’s a good thing too.
Like white on rice, the U.S. is on any country with significant foreign currency reserves. We’re even borrowing from … Brazil, which is now the United States’s fourth-largest creditor. The countries who buy U.S. government bonds to finance our debt are enablers. Anything that discourages this dubious investment will encourage the U.S. government to live within its means.