How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, explains how government debt builds up over long cycles until countries can no longer pay it back. He argues the United States is approaching that point. Using 35 historical cases, Dalio describes the mechanics of the big debt cycle, from rising borrowing and central bank money printing to currency devaluation and restructuring. He offers measures to judge where a country stands and proposes a plan for reducing US deficits before a crisis.