BorrowersBlackmail causes LendersRemorse:
The American Empire is borrowing enough to garrison the planet, cut taxes, buy enough pills (at monopoly prices) to make everyone happyhappyhappy, build bridges to nowhere so we'll have somewhere to drive our SUVs, and in general act like Brits in the 1800s, French under the Sun King, and second century Romans.
We've already borrowed enough, that the Chinese/Russians/Saudis/Japanese hold so many USD-denominated assets, we can now blackmail them: "Keep on lending, or else. Keep on lending, or we'll threaten to default on the money you've already lent us. Keep on lending, or there will be a crisis, a panic, a loss of confidence, a contraction in consumer spending, an abrupt revaluation of assets, angry people thrown out in the street looking for a scapegoat. Keep on lending, and the good times will go on, more or less. We promise never to demand any more credit from you. Till tomorrow."
The Roman Empire ended, when the paychecks of the Legions on the frontier stopped arriving.
The British Empire bankrupted itself from 1914 to 1945. They won their wars, but still lost their entire Empire, India and Africa and most of Ireland, because the world's financial center of gravity shifted from London to New York.
The American Empire will end when... |
