So in the UK the tories and media keep saying the national debt is the highest its been since the ww2 (which is true of pretty much any year since the 80s). And that we need to raise taxes, tighten our belts etc to pay back what we borrowed to get us thru the pandemic.

Now I know this kind of treating a countries finances like household finances and talking about national debt like its credit card debt is disingenuous and just used as a way to justify squeezing people more than they are already.

But what I don't know with enough authority to be able to talk to people about it is why this is the case? How is national debt different and wtf is it? Who do we owe it to and do we even need to pay it back etc?

Ofc I know the whole thing is bullshit anyway any only exists to preserve the current power structure but let's leave that for now.

Be good to hear thoughts from someone who knows things.

  • Pezevenk [he/him]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    Simply not the case. This was explained. The US services all debt. It's not threatening anyone into writing off debts. Ever. It can service the debt because it has a robust economy, very low interest rates, and national debt isn't as big a deal as people pretend anyways. The aforementioned do mostly hinge on imperialism but not the way you think. I'm not sure you know what a debt ceiling is.