I'm sorry if I wasn't clear... what I meant was that the government will go to whatever lengths it needs in order to avoid having to "...adopt austere, even draconian budget and policy measures." They (the people running the government) are spending junkies and they won't stop spending just because they are out of money. They'll print more. Lots more.

Dan's question was whether "...inflation would pick up in the U.S." and my response was not just yes, but Hell Yes. As the value of our currency drops because of inflation, U.S. goods become cheaper overseas (in the short term, until production costs adjust for the devalued currency) and the debts the government owes are paid with cheaper money. Sure, why not? The only ones who get screwed by this are people on fixed incomes and the countries who lent the U.S. the money in the first place, and since the latter can't vote and the former aren't that big a voting block the politicians feel safe for the next election which is as far ahead as any of them look anyway.

tanstaafl.