Why can’t America quit flirting with financial ruin?
Nobody thinks defaulting on US sovereign debt is a good idea. And yet it prompts recurrent crises
FOR GOOD REASON, countries avoid defaulting on their sovereign debts if they can. Argentina, Greece and Lebanon can all attest to the pain of that experience. America is exceptional, however. Every few years, it ends up precariously close to a partial default, only to yield right before taking the country’s full faith and credit (and global markets) over the precipice. The precipitating events are never economic, but always political. The most recent flare-up of this self-destructive habit was particularly senseless. And it is almost certain to not be the last.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Groundhog days”
United States October 9th 2021
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From the October 9th 2021 edition
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It seems obvious. So what is stopping it from happening?