America's interest bill on its debt has hit $1 trillion a year, and the only ways out are bad for anyone holding dollars.

• The government borrowed cheap and short-term during the pandemic, and now has to roll that debt over at 4% instead of 1.5%.
• Interest is now the second biggest thing Washington spends on, behind Social Security — more than defense and homeland security combined.
• $9.6 trillion of debt comes due in 2026, and foreign buyers like Japan and China are backing away, forcing rates higher still.
• The Fed won't cut rates because of inflation, and the Treasury can't afford high rates — one side has to break.
• The 1940s playbook was to cap rates and let inflation quietly erase savers' money; people with land, stocks, or gold rode it out, people holding cash did not.

Outlook: Expect pressure on the Fed to cut and print, which would ease the debt bill while shrinking what the dollar buys.