wsj.com

Yet America’s fiscal position is far more constrained today than ever before. The U.S. government is now in violation of Ferguson’s Law and is likely to move further beyond its crucial limit in the coming decades.

History suggests that any sustained period when a great power spends more on interest payments than on military capabilities is likely to see its strategic rivals challenge its position. The tension between “guns and coupons” (as the interest-bearing parts of bonds used to be known) may also undermine its domestic stability, as governments try and ... See more