Will the U.S. National Debt Ever be Paid Off?

As of right now, the U.S. national debt sits at 39 trillion (yes, trillion) dollars... how did we even get here? I don't think there's any realistic plan to actually pay this debt back at all. I think the strategy is just to keep inflating the currency so the debt becomes worthless over time.

Does anyone think there's actually an exit strategy here or are they just kicking the can down the road forever?

They keep spending and spending so much that I'm not sure they know how to pay it off.

They keep talking about increasing the age limit for social security to the point that I'm afraid that my generation isn't going to be able to retire......I'm just going to have to work till I'm dead. I think that all stems from the debt they have. All the Americans are paying money into that system all their lives and we'll never get that back if they get away with trying to up the age limit.

No. It is an impossibility and here's why: our current monetary system is a debt based monetary system. ALL dollars are borrowed into existence and every single cent has interest attached to it as dollars are created(from thin air/nothing) through loans by commercial banks and our central bank. If all loans were paid back by individuals, corporations, and government there would not be a dollar left in circulation. If just the government paid it off there would still be dollars but so few that almost no one would have any. In short(and simplified) this means debt is our currency and our currency is debt. So we are paying bills with corporate debt(as the banks are corporations).

On Jun 2, 2026, MoneyMan said:

No. It is an impossibility and here's why: our current monetary system is a debt based monetary system. ALL dollars are borrowed into existence and every single cent has interest attached to it as dollars are created(from thin air/nothing) through loans by commercial banks and our central bank. If all loans were paid back by individuals, corporations, and government there would not be a dollar left in circulation. If just the government paid it off there would still be dollars but so few that almost no one would have any. In short(and simplified) this means debt is our currency and our currency is debt. So we are paying bills with corporate debt(as the banks are corporations).

Still nuts to me that if all debt were paid off that no money would exist. 🤯

Not just the US, I don't think any country will be able to pay their national debt. The government spends more than they collect tax, which keeps annual budget deficit, and deficit is compensated through borrowing. This happens year after year and debt keeps on piling.

On Jun 3, 2026, DavidB said:

Still nuts to me that if all debt were paid off that no money would exist. 🤯

That's because of the stupid system we have. @MoneyMan is spot on and we need to change how our money fundamentally works but we can't do that unless people understand money.

On Jun 5, 2026, Nomad said:

Not just the US, I don't think any country will be able to pay their national debt. The government spends more than they collect tax, which keeps annual budget deficit, and deficit is compensated through borrowing. This happens year after year and debt keeps on piling.

As it says in G Edward Griffin's book, The Creature From Jekyll Island, deficit spending is a crime against future generations. It steals from the future to pay for today.