Over the past decade I've written a few essays on the coming economic collapse of the USA.  I noted in 2013 that the on-book national debt was an estimated $16 Trillion.  The actual debt using Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), which includes all off-book obligations (promises of future payments such as Social Security, government retirement accounts, Medicare A & B, et.al.) was $238 Trillion.  Today the on-book debt is $30.3 Trillion, not quite double what it was when I last wrote about this.  We can reasonably assume the total debt according to GAAP is similarly doubled, all in at $450 Trillion.

The rest of the world loaned us such vast sums, merely because the dollar was the worlds' reserve currency.  And that worked, when the USA produced things of inherent value.  Oil and gas, manufactured goods, electronics, software, infrastructure products, even textiles.  These days we manufacture dollar bills (or digital currency), and shoot anyone who rejects them.  But these strong-arm tactics have worked up until now because we basically slapped around weak countries to keep them in line.  Anyone who attempted to "de-dollarise" has had economic sanctions put against them, or invaded, or "revolutions" fomented to facilitate the execution of such leaders who would dare to challenge the dollar hegemony.  THIS is the real reason for US troops in Iraq, the desire to go to war with Iran, the NATO attacks of Libya, the attempts to start a war in Syria, the destabilization efforts in Turkey.