What would happen if the US printed enough money to cover all the debts?
Forget high inflation — we'd see hyperinflation, where prices could increase by millions of percentage points, Snaith says. A scenario like this “grinds an economy to a halt. Prices don't really function the way they should, and because money doesn't hold its value, people don't want to accept it as payment,” he says.
How can it be dangerous? If the government prints too much money, people who sell things for money raise the prices for their goods, services and labor. This lowers the purchasing power and value of the money being printed. In fact, if the government prints too much money, the money becomes worthless.
“The answer, in one word, is inflation,” says Alan Cole, senior economic policy analyst at The Conference Board, a business-focused think tank. “[That's] the binding constraint on governments, in the end, that keeps them from issuing gobs of currency and buying whatever they want with it.”
If the government creates too much money, people would end up with more money in their hands. Consumers would demand more and supply in the short run would fail to meet the sudden rise in demand. High demand pushes prices up, which in the worst-case scenario can lead to hyperinflation.
It would cause the government to default on its legal obligations – an unprecedented event in American history.
If the Treasury Department can't pay expenses when the debt ceiling is reached, there is a risk that the U.S. will default on its debt. The debt ceiling has been raised or suspended several times to avoid the risk of default.
In general, issuing new money is designed to provide the economy with liquidity. For example, it creates incentives for consumption and access to finance which promotes industrial growth, economic development and innovation. In general, properly issuing money is linked to economic expansion.
Maintaining interest rates at low levels can help stimulate the economy, generate tax revenue, and, ultimately, reduce the national debt. Lower interest rates make it easier for individuals and businesses to borrow money for goods and services, which creates jobs and increases tax revenues.
In total, other territories hold about $7.4 trillion in U.S. debt. Japan owns the most at $1.1 trillion, followed by China, with $859 billion, and the United Kingdom at $668 billion. In isolation, this $7.4 trillion amount is a lot, said Scott Morris, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development.
Hungary 1946
The worst case of hyperinflation ever recorded occurred in Hungary in the first half of 1946. By the midpoint of the year, Hungary's highest denomination bill was the 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 (One Hundred Quintillion) pengo, compared to 1944s highest denomination, 1,000 pengo.
Why is the US in debt?
Tax cuts, stimulus programs, increased government spending, and decreased tax revenue caused by widespread unemployment generally account for sharp rises in the national debt. Visit the Historical Debt Outstanding dataset to explore and download this data.
The bottom line
Printing more money is a non-starter because it'd break our economy. “It would take care of the debt but at a price that's far too high to pay,” Snaith says.
What happens when a country defaults? For ordinary people, a default means higher food costs from inflation, as the government prints money to cover its costs. It means unemployment, as businesses and government agencies cut spending. And it means reductions in essential services such as health care and education.
When the Fed increases the money supply faster than the economy is growing, inflation occurs. In this situation, the increase in money circulating in an economy is higher than the increase in goods produced. There is now more money chasing not as many goods in this economy.
Did you know it's legal to print your own money? You can't print money that looks like government money, of course, but as long as it looks different, you're clear.
Under current policy, the United States has about 20 years for corrective action after which no amount of future tax increases or spending cuts could avoid the government defaulting on its debt whether explicitly or implicitly (i.e., debt monetization producing significant inflation).
China is one of the United States's largest creditors, owning about $859.4 billion in U.S. debt. 1 However, it does not own the most U.S. debt of any foreign country. Nations borrowing from each other may be as old as the concept of money.
Thanks to a law passed by Congress in 1996 (Section 1145, "Protection of Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds"), Social Security checks should keep flowing, even if the U.S. government begins defaulting on its other existing financial obligations.
1 Foreign governments hold a large portion of the public debt, while the rest is owned by U.S. banks and investors, the Federal Reserve, state and local governments, mutual funds, pensions funds, insurance companies, and holders of savings bonds.
- Japan. Japan has the highest percentage of national debt in the world at 259.43% of its annual GDP. ...
- United States. ...
- China. ...
- Russia.
Who does the US borrow money from?
Federal Borrowing
The federal government borrows money from the public by issuing securities—bills, notes, and bonds—through the Treasury. Treasury securities are attractive to investors because they are: Backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
One of the drastic and immediate outcomes of printing excessive amounts of money is inflation. When the supply of money surpasses the demand for goods and services in an economy, prices will begin to rise rapidly, and that is a problem. This erodes the purchasing power of individuals and undermines economic stability.
The deeper reason for this is that money is really a facilitator of exchange between people, a middleman in a trade. If goods could trade with goods directly, without a middleman, we would not need money. If you print more money you simply affect the terms of trade between money and goods, nothing else.
If the government keeps printing money, inflation can spiral out of control, leading to hyperinflation. This happened in Germany during the 1920s, when the government printed so much money that people used it as wallpaper because it was worth less than the cost of the wallpaper.
- Brunei. 3.2%
- Afghanistan. 7.8%
- Kuwait. 11.5%
- Democratic Republic of Congo. 15.2%
- Eswatini. 15.5%
- Palestine. 16.4%
- Russia. 17.8%
