Washington is having a harder time borrowing the money it needs, and the fix — printing more money — is bad news for anyone holding dollars.

• The government spends about $7 trillion a year but only collects about $5 trillion in taxes, so it borrows the gap.
• Fewer lenders want US debt, so the government has to offer higher interest rates to attract them.
• Interest payments alone are heading toward $1.1 trillion this year, more than the military budget.
• Japan and China are selling US debt rather than buying more, and the UK and Middle East allies can't fill the gap.
• The Fed and Treasury are now buying up government debt themselves — about $300 billion this year — to hold rates down.

Outlook: The rescue buying is far too small against $2 trillion of new borrowing, so expect the Fed to print much more, which would push inflation higher.