What happens when the Government's debt can’t be repaid?

Well, it’s different than when it’s your personal credit card debt, vs the government's debt.
But it’s also sort of the same, meaning… if the debt can’t be repaid, there will need to be some sort of agreement…

For example, on personal debt, you might negotiate with the lender for smaller payments spread out over a longer time frame. A debt restructuring… or sometimes it’s just like sorry, I can’t pay it, and it’s an outright default.

Or sometimes, it’s something in between, but…
What happens will you look at all the debt, and the ability to pay it back and just realize, there is no way

And you realize it can’t even be paid back.

And with about $34 trillion of debt for the US government and about $305 Trillion for governments around the world.. That’s the realization that many are starting to have…

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Sir Charles Bean - Former Deputy Governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England