At root, debt-raising capacity is not a technical issue; it is a profoundly political one, which means that it is driven by the values and culture of the society. Unless consensus exists within a society as to resource limits to which all must adhere, an adequate debt-capacity buffer will be difficult to achieve and maintain.
The United States has benefited enormously from the opening up of international markets in the postwar period. We have access to a wide range of goods and services for consumption; our industries produce and employ cutting-edge technologies; and the opportunities created by these technologies have attracted capital inflows from abroad.