If anyone thinks that America ever planned on repaying all our debt is nuts. The plan was to print money and have low interest rates, thereby causing
Inflation and a lower dollar. What they didn’t count on was that the rest of the world was in worse shape and devalued their currency better. And the low interest rates didn’t produce the growth they expected either.
Pretty much you nailed it. Its called stealth default. There are some freepers who believe we can really pay back $19 trillion. :-)