Britain finally burns the mortgage on WWII

Today, 56 years after the pact was entered into, Britain finally casts off the yoke of debt incurred fighting WWII and crawling from under the rubble.

In 1945, Britain was a mess. The empire was gone and the country was on the brink of bankruptcy, unable to even import sufficient food to sustain the population. In desperation, they looked to their closest ally and borrowed $4.3 Billion at 2% interest, to be repaid over 50 years. On six occasions, Britain was forced to defer their payments, most recently in 1976.

Britain has done a fair amount of grumbling about the repayment of the loan. The European allies really bore the brunt of WWII. They paid a much steeper price for their liberty than the United States did. The infrastructure of Britain was in rubble, the economy was in shambles. The country had endured the Blitz and many civilian casualties.

But now, 61 years after the end of the war, they are free of the debt.

I doubt I live to see the day the United States pays off the debt being incurred by the futile folly we are currently embroiled in.