Morgan Housel

And we actually did that at the end of World War II when debt was about as high as it is right now.

I think we're a little bit higher right now, but as a percentage of GDP about what it is right now.

And if you go back and you read what they said about that in 1945, 1946, they were shitting their pants about it.

And true to your forecast, the prevailing view was there's nothing we can do about this.

It's just too much and this is the end of the empire.

That was the prevailing view.

And you mix that with you had a tremendous amount of stimulus from World War II that was immediately being withdrawn.

And so tons of debt and the economy is going to slow no matter what.

Not a good scenario.

Everyone's freaking out.

In hindsight, we know how the story end, which is what the story ended pretty well.

There was recessions in 1946 and 1952.

It wasn't pure roses back then, but by and large, we did pretty well.

And we didn't pay the debt off.

And this is one quirk that I think people get wrong.

Individuals have to pay their debt off.

There will come a time in the future, whether that time is death or before that, when you have to pay your debt off.

Countries are not like that.

Countries can be in debt for perpetuity.

They can be in debt forever.