Gradually, then Suddenly, Bankrupt

“How Did You Go Bankrupt?” “Two Ways. Gradually and Then Suddenly.”

Hemingway's immortal words from his novel "The Sun Also Rises" aptly describe what's happening in the United States.

Before we explore the American predicament, here's the relevant passage from Hemingway's novel.

“How did you go bankrupt?” Bill asked.

“Two ways,” Mike said. “Gradually and then suddenly.”

“What brought it on?”

“Friends,” said Mike. “I had a lot of friends. False friends. Then I had creditors, too. Probably had more creditors than anybody in England.”

The United States has 'friends' too. They are costly friends who are more than prepared to take whatever the US offers in return for transient loyalty.

Some, like Ukraine, are happy to bleed the US taxpayer dry while siphoning off billions to secret bank accounts held by their officials.

In fact, one doesn't even need to be a friend of the United States to be on the handout list.

Consider Iran, for example. The rogue state recently received around USD 6 billion from the Biden government. The foolish US administration insisted the money wouldn't be used for weapons while ignoring that it freed up other Iranian funds to be channelled into the war industry.

I suspect that last week's volley of missiles directed toward Israel was essentially funded by the United States - Israel's principal ally.

Similar stories about the US financial relationships with many other countries can be told. Many could be described as Hemingway's 'false friends'.

Then there are the creditors.

Visual Capitalist reports:

The cost of paying for America’s national debt crossed the $1 trillion mark in 2023, driven by high-interest rates and a record $34 trillion mountain of debt.

Over the last decade, U.S. debt interest payments have more than doubled amid vast government spending during the pandemic crisis. As debt payments continue to soar, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reported that debt servicing costs surpassed defence spending for the first time ever this year.