The Federal Reserve System now owns nearly 30% of the US national debt, purchasing bonds from domestic holders of that debt, and is now the biggest single holder of that debt. When government begins to become the biggest buyer of its own debt, that's a strategy referred to as "monetizing the debt," printing money to cover the purchases.

Using past history as an example, the Weimar Republic of Germany tried that approach, causing runaway inflation, with the image of Germans carrying wheelbarrow loads of Marks to purchase food. Zimbabwe is the current example, with images of printed money in $100M issues that are worth only a few pennies.

Japan has been monetizing its debt for some time, and now has a national debt that's over 250% of its GDP. Once the payment on that debt reaches a point where it becomes obvious that the country can't even make the interest payment from revenues received, the country is bankrupt, and Japan is nearly there.

US national debt is now more than 120% of our GDP, and the interest payment is now more than the defense budget. We've been skating on the thin ice of low interest percentages, but even a few percentage points rise would be a crippling burden on our economy. We desperately need leadership that recognizes the pending disaster and aims for a balanced budget.