Unlike historical patterns, the current debt crisis is unusual because the private sector has not increased debt much in America (neither households nor corporations have borrowed heavily), but instead government debt has gone up exponentially, leaving no lender of last resort available if the government gets into trouble.

Japan has avoided fiscal crisis for decades by 'extending and pretending' without facing a forced adjustment; similarly, Italy has done the same, suggesting that without crisis pressure, governments can perpetually avoid adjustment.

Running large deficits in the middle of an economic expansion is unjustifiable; it creates intergenerational tension as younger people worry they'll be left servicing massive debt, and it represents a failure of leadership to maintain fiscal discipline during growth periods when it's easiest to do so.

America is now at a point where it thinks it can run whatever budget deficit it wants and the rest of the world will keep funding and financing it, which is becoming ridiculous and echoes the patterns seen with UK and Sterling in the 1950s-1970s and French currency historically.