Despite its AA+ credit rating
People do not make fun of the US for having their credit rating downgraded nearly enough. Imagine being the wealthiest country in history with control over the most ubiquitous reserve currency on the planet and the credit rating agencies are like “it’s not that we don’t trust you, but we have standards to maintain.”
The US credit rating has fluctuated since 2011. At one point I think it was as low as A-. Regardless, the idea that it would ever be anything other than AAA is hilarious.
The ratings agencies basically said a Republican Congress and a Democratic President is the biggest risk to debt repayment. It isn't that the government doesn't have the money, but that it won't spend it.
That’s the point. The US has effectively unlimited money, or let’s say unlimited liquidity, so their ability to repay is purely based on political issues. That they can’t get their shit together enough politically to avoid their own borrowing costs going up is extremely funny and embarrassing.
Vietnam and Mexico could take advantage of the arbitrage opportunity (sell domestic bonds, buy US bonds), but clearly aren't because they think there's no edge?
That's... Pretty crazy. Doesn't bode well for US inflation.
