Perpetual Debt: From the British Empire to the American Hegemon

Great piece from the Mises website that walks the read through the US's history of debt. What is amazing is the effect of war on the country's debt and how FDR played a key role in helping it to spiral out of control.

The triumph of the funding system and its corollary of perpetual debt is undeniable. It rules the world. While there is some expressed concern about the size of the Bush deficits, almost no member of either the intelligentsia or the ruling elite has suggested, or even considered, paying the debt down. Just consider the likelihood of congressmen agreeing to set aside $400 billion a year in a sinking fund instead of spending it on programs, projects, and overseas adventures designed to get him, or her, reelected. The possibility of it happening is as remote as that of an American mountaineer summiting the highest peak on Mars.