At this point is it even possible for the USA to get it's financial house in order?

Functionally, yes. Politically, almost certainly not.

Which means we're likely just holding on until the world decides to move on from using the USD as its reserve currency. Because the day that happens, it's too late to fix the problem and Americans will find out what it means to live through the collapse of an empire.

Mathematically it can be done

In a period of 10 years-

Keep taxes as they are. No tinkering

Government spending has to remain flat. Shift amounts within the framework but no overall increase in spending.

Our economy would expand and we’d grow our way to fiscal sanity.

That would be too easy

NO, and No.
38 trillion and counting, gov't money keeps many industries afloat. Just like entitlements will never be cut to make a difference; crime would skyrocket.

They will inflate their way out like they always do

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There is a world where you accelerate growth enough that you "grow" yourself out of the fiscal problem.

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Unfortunately, I think we're past that point. We're set to pay roughly $1T next year simply in interest on existing debt, and we're already heavily deficit spending even if we locked spending at current rates. Because we can still export inflation due to being the world's reserve currency, I think it's still possible, but I think it would require, at minimum, a $1T or so cut from current spending levels. Which, considering the behemoth that the federal government has become, isn't all that difficult. At least if you ignore political reality

We’ll be obliged to re colonize the planet. Everyone pretends we’re too civilized, but I guarantee it will only take a couple years of austerity before people welcome reframing the concept of tribute into UBI to protect the working class.

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conceivable path I can think of is if bitcoin becomes the world’s base money and the US has an outsized position of that monetary system.

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No way

What government is going to give up their currency?
And why would you want a currency as volatile as bitcoin?

People cannot get elected on cutting spending.

/thread

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What government is going to give up their currency? And why would you want a currency as volatile as bitcoin?

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Since the world veered away from the gold standard, in which value was easy to determine from country to country, we have an inefficient system worldwide with numerous national currencies. We have a foreign exchange market in the trillions that produces zero value for society.

This market only exists because of the fluctuations in the value of currencies. We can’t set a fixed exchange rate like $1 = 1 Euro = 1 Swiss Franc. These values fluctuate because of the supply and demand caused by different interest rates, inflations, economic performance, etc of the different countries.

This system of inefficiency has been begging for a solution for decades. Bitcoin is secure and can be easily exchanged worldwide at very low costs, eliminating the need for the multi trillion dollar foreign exchange market. Bitcoin is scarce, and not subject to money printing and debasement like government currencies.

Yes Bitcoin is volatile right now and will remain so until it reaches a point of mass acceptance. The free market will ultimately determine whether it becomes the world reserve currency and it won’t get there without more acceptance and stability. But the more the U.S. government prints money to inflate their way out of the massive debt, the more likely it’s going to happen.