Once again, the economics of your kitchen table or of your small business doesn't translate at all to the economics of the largest economy the world has ever known. Also, there really isn't a precedent for a globalized market like this, the closest thing I can think of that MIGHT apply would be the British Empire, and although they are not the world powerhouse they once were, they ain't doing too bad. To compare ancient civilizations to this is cognitive dissonance at it's finest. However, if your end goal is to reduce the overall debt, something tells me that continuing to spend 500 billion a year (that's documented, plus whatever classified budgets there are) on defense while embroiled in 2 conflicts for which there is no exit strategy while screaming for tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and decrying the "outlandish" benefits of working class teachers isn't going to do much to reduce that debt. I retract my earlier statement, THAT's cognitive dissonance at it's finest.