What If We Paid Off the Debt? A Secret Government Report

"Planet Money has obtained a secret government report outlining what once looked like a potential crisis: The possibility that the U.S. government might pay off its entire debt."

"It sounds ridiculous today. But not so long ago, the prospect of a debt-free U.S. was seen as a real possibility with the potential to upset the global financial system."

"We recently obtained the report through a Freedom of Information Act Request. You can read the whole thing here. (It's a PDF.)"

"The report is called "Life After Debt". It was written in the year 2000, when the U.S. was running a budget surplus, taking in more than it was spending every year. Economists were projecting that the entire national debt could be paid off by 2012."