National Debt, American Wonders and the Wisdom from Uwadiegwu

It is an anomaly: the nation with the largest debt is also the one that is seen as the most developed and richest. The US national debt  is the total amount of outstanding borrowing by the US Federal Government accumulated over the nation’s history. Today, that number is about $34.75 Trillion.

It is a real economic mystery when you think deeper: Nigeria does not even have a lot of debts, but it is “poor”, and experts will tell you not to over-borrow because it can put you in trouble, if you are unable to pay. So, how can a New Yorker who has thousands of dollars of debt on his head, better than an Ovim man who has no debt? That is where the mystery is solved! Yes, the magic of capital, over money, making the United States better and richer.

First, some experts have modeled that the United States interest payment will hit $1.6 trillion by year end, making it the largest US Government outlay. In nearly every other nation in the world, that would be an economic apocalypse. But for the United States with the custodial of the dollar, the impact would be muted.

Why? In an Igbo novel, Uwadiegwu, the author dropped a great hint: when you borrow, go to your kinsman so that if the debt goes bad, he may lock you up, but at the same time he would be expected to take care of your family since he is your kinsman! That is how debts work: pains are lesser when the debt is home. America borrows dollars and they’re responsible for printing dollars. No other country enjoys that combo.

So, provided the US has those special printers, they can print US dollars, and if necessary, flood the world with dollars. Like the Igbo name “Nwaoha” – a child is born to the community, not just to the parents – the US dollar is a currency for the world, and not just for America. So, when the US prints, and triggers inflation, everyone shares the fun!

Of course, the US companies which hold these debts cannot wish for the US to have pains since if the US goes, companies like Blackrock, State Street, etc will fade. That is possible because these debts are all localized.

Contrast with Nigeria. Nigeria has to earn US dollars to pay its US dollar-denominated debts, and the debts are not with Nigerian companies or entities. Magically, that burden pushes Nigeria to make decisions which must help it earn US dollars to service those debts. Consequently, the agriculture policy focuses on things which can be exported to earn US dollars, and not necessarily what people need for dinner, lunch and breakfast in Ovim, Ibadan, Uyo, and Yobe.

Money is a subset of Capital, and companies and nations which allow Money to rule over them underperform. In Nigeria, we’re pursuing so much money, with limited efforts designed to advance Capital, triggering a system where there are many farmlands but no capital market product for farmlands. And without Capital, we scale poverty. When South Africa’s stock (capital) market has close to $1 trillion value, and Nigeria’s is hovering around $50 billion, you can see that we have a lot of money in Nigeria, but limited Capital. That must change.

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