After the meeting of US President Donald Trump and Pakistani Army Chief Asif Munir at the White House, it seems as if Pakistan has won a lottery. Pakistan, which was on the verge of poverty, has once again got a lifeline. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a loan of US $ 1.2 billion (about Rs 10,782 crore) to Pakistan. This is the same Pakistan, about which India has warned the world many times that the money going there is ultimately spent in nourishing terrorism. But, diplomacy experts believe that the ‘soft corner’ of the Trump administration is working behind this decision of the IMF.
However, the other aspect of this whole story is very shocking. On one hand, America is using its influence to get loan to Pakistan, but on the other hand, the world’s largest economy i.e. America itself is stuck in such a quagmire of debt.
Relief to Pakistan from Trump’s ‘friendship’
Generally, before giving loan to any country, IMF evaluates its economic policies very strictly. A high level committee releases funds only after fulfilling its conditions. But it is an open secret in global diplomacy that America has a huge influence on the decisions of the IMF.
It is believed that Asif Munir’s meeting with Trump and the agreement reached thereafter has made the path of loan easier for Pakistan. Despite India’s opposition and apprehensions, Pakistan has received this amount, which will definitely provide relief to the government there for a few months. But the real question is that America, which is providing loans to others, what is the condition of its own coffers?
America’s huge debt burden
Donald Trump had promised during the election campaign that he would make America great again. But even they don’t know how. America’s total debt has currently reached a historic level of $105.2 trillion. You can estimate how big this figure is from the fact that it is approximately 3.5 times the total GDP of America.
Not only the government has a share in this huge debt, but the common American is also deeply in trouble. In this, the debt of the federal government is 38.2 trillion dollars. Apart from this, personal debt is 26.4 trillion dollars, mortgage debt (home loan) is 21.3 trillion dollars and student loan is 1.8 trillion dollars. That means, from the government to the common citizen, everyone is living a life of debt.
It is estimated that if this pace continues, by 2028 this debt will touch the figure of 50 trillion dollars. Since the pandemic (COVID-19), the situation has become even more explosive, because since then the debt has increased by 15 trillion dollars.
Every day 3 billion dollars are going only in interest.
America is now more concerned about repaying the loan interest than spending on its development works. According to the report, America has to spend about 3 billion dollars every day just in paying interest. This is a situation that can hollow the economy of any country.
No matter how many big claims Donald Trump makes about the American economy, the reality is that the country is trapped in a terrible debt trap. If no concrete economic reforms are made soon, the government will have no money left for development works, infrastructure and public welfare. All the revenue will be wasted in repaying the debt.
