>Edward, why are you ignoring the interest and dividends? If the money was returned along with interest and dividends, that means it came with extra money that came from somwhere else. This is called a profit. Obviously the money was not lent to banks with the goal of earning a profit, but if that is what occurs, we need to call a spade a spade. What it *does* mean is that the possibility of leaving trillions of $ for our children to pay back may not be quite so dire.

I tried to explain you the most basic economic things. One cannot create profit from air, i.e. every "interest/dividend" created from air-filled principal is hot air too, i.e. Ponzi scheme. It can be used to fool fools only.
I kindly advise you to learn what "profit" means in accounting terms. Specifically, when principal gets created from air (i.e. before any "dividends") it means liability on spot; this liability got to be covered before one may talk about any profits. It is plain unacceptable to pontificate about economic issues without learning something first, imho.