It will be a cold COLD day in hell before the US defaults on its debt. Why? Federal debt [ignoring the special cases of FNMA and FMAC for the moment] is guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the government. What does full faith and credit mean? It means the government will raise the funds by any means necessary to satisfy the debt. They may issue new debt, raise taxes, print money (aka inflate the currency), or if they have to, sell items out of the Smithsonian. However, until the government is bereft of resources [and believe me, that would be one HELL of a bankupt society] your federal debt will be paid.

Did Argentina [the name itself means land of silver] really default on its debt? Or did it simply delay repayment and negotiate more favorable repayment terms? I’m guessing the latter but if someone would care to enlighten us, please do.