Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

well, i heard that even if you have fdic insurance

FDIC insurance is a somewhat different issue, but as I pointed out in an earlier post in this thread, only around the FDIC only has enough assets to cover about 0.5% of what they claim to insure. If a big enough bank collapses, either FDIC's assets will run out or the government will just have to print even more to cover all the losses.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

i don't get how one country "owes" another country money.

As I explained above. They are buying bonds and other securities from the Treasury.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

but they are printing money and there's no way you can know how much exactly. no one can. maybe on weekends or holidays they go in and print a couple billion and give it to whoever. you wouldn't know.

They print securities which are traded on the open market for money.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

so then we agree that the printing presses can't be audited about how much money is coming off them?

There are more ways to create money than the Fed printing it. Every time any bank anywhere hands out a loan or a line or credit to anyone, that's brand new money entering circulation.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

the government will lower the interest rates to 0 then.

Securities are sold at fixed rates for 5 years, 10 years, 20 years, and so on. Changing the interest rate today will only affect the interest on new debt issued from that change.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

they might even file for bankruptcy protection so they can start the slate clean again.

File with who? Themselves?

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

i'm sure there's some way they can get out of their problem. don't you?

Yes. It's called shutting down the vast majority of government spending. If we have no money to spend and no one will lend us any more, then we don't have any other choice.

Quote from: larry_vw_1955 on Today at 03:39:54 AM

no one needs to lend the us government money because they create the money in the first place.

Again, they are creating securities which must be bought. And even if you think endless printing is the solution to this, just look at places like Zimbabwe or Venezuela where it costs $100 trillion to buy a loaf of bread.