And what exactly is the option? To continue on the same path?
No. We need to stop issuing new debt. We need to start paying down old debt. I don't even know how we're going to deal with unfunded liabilities.
You need to understand - our debt isn't just debt. It's also used as an asset. That debt is in retirement funds, held as bank reserves, it's used as collateral, and as interest bearing reserve currency by foreign nations. These things are stacked on top of one another in our interlinked global system of banking and finance.
Do you realize what it will do to the global banking system if we try to discount it? It will crash everything that's built on it, trillions in money supply just gone. It will grind everything to a halt, like right now.
And if you try and buy that debt by creating money, you just exchange one set of problems with another. Global banking and finance are like temporal mechanics in the sci-fi shows - there are very twisty and often perverse consequences to actions taken.
Running surpluses is our only hope of getting our debt situation. We need to cut unneeded spending and make our business environment more competitive to increase revenue. That's the only legit way you can do it.