Originally posted by: 0marTheZealot
3. Public debt. This is probably going to be the catalyst. If the US continues to recklessly spend money and refuse to pay back it's treasuries, the countries that finance our debt will simply stop to do so. Already, most of our debt is financed by states that are at least indifferent to our interests. We are entrusting the financial security of this country to countries like China, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Germany, Norway, Finland, Japan. We are paying nearly a trillion dollars a year in defense costs (Pentagon budget, oversea bases, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). We have learned nothing from the other empires in history. These costs are becoming an albatross onto us.
This is not accurate. The vast majority of our debt is financed internally. About 25% is financed by the countries you mentioned.