Could the United States be going bust? Perhaps this is not the sort of question that people should raise in polite company, but the signs of a gradual erosion of American solvency are there for all to see.

To make matters worse there does not appear to be anyone within either the Republican or the Democratic leadership who appears to be concerned about the credibility of the United States’s fiscal and debt deterioration. One crowd is happy to keep cutting taxes, while the other lot are promising more spending.

As always, it is the bond market that signals problems ahead. The interest rate on American debt (the price the market is willing to lend to the US government) has been rising gradually over the past few weeks as people begin to take on board some of the disturbing budgetary arithmetic. In response, Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, reacted in possibly the least responsible way: by dismissing the views of people who lend money to the US as not really understanding the complexity of the economy.

When you are dependent on other people, it is sometimes wise to listen to their concerns. But whether it is listening to military experts about the risk of an impossible war in Iran or listening to the financial experts about the risk of budgetary incontinence, a characteristic of this administration is hubris, arrogance and ultimately folly. So maybe we should not be too surprised by Bessent’s antics.

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The fact remains that........

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