“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation,” Adam Smith once said to a correspondent who was concerned about Britain’s prospects. The question, though, is whether there’s enough ruin in the United States to sustain the fiscal incontinence of America’s political class.

While nothing is written in stone, the signs suggest that the stockpile of ruin is being drawn down too far and too fast, threatening disastrous consequences for the country and the world economy. U.S. federal debt held by the public (which excludes money the government owes itself) is currently near 100 per cent of gross domestic product — and continuously rising as spending outstrips taxes.