Domestic holdings of foreign debt:UK - $1.2 TrillionCanada - $705 BillionCayman Islands - $1.2 TrillionRest of the EU - >$1 TrillionThis is why the national debt and the national deficit are largely irrelevant. Don’t get me wrong. A fiscally solvent government is good, insofar as the public’s perception of a solvent government leads to other desirable economic conditions.But I wish people knew just how irrelevant the national debt and national deficit are. Because they wouldn’t be so panicked when the deficit increases, or be so jovial when it decreases. The politician whisperers know how irrelevant the deficit and the debt are.That’s why politicians like Paul Ryan, who spent their entire life complaining about deficits, can look everyone in the country straight in the face and vote for a piece of legislation that they knew would increase the national debt by over $1.5 Trillion.

Domestic holdings of foreign debt:UK - $1.2 TrillionCanada - $705 BillionCayman Islands - $1.2 TrillionRest of the EU - >$1 TrillionThis is why the national debt and the national deficit are largely irrelevant. Don’t get me wrong. A fiscally solvent government is good, insofar as the public’s perception of a solvent government leads to other desirable economic conditions.But I wish people knew just how irrelevant the national debt and national deficit are. Because they wouldn’t be so panicked when the deficit increases, or be so jovial when it decreases. The politician whisperers know how irrelevant the deficit and the debt are.That’s why politicians like Paul Ryan, who spent their entire life complaining about deficits, can look everyone in the country straight in the face and vote for a piece of legislation that they knew would increase the national debt by over $1.5 Trillion.

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