jonesy 55:
Please read the following:
On 31 December, the UK will make a payment of about $83m (£45.5m) to the US and so discharge the last of its loans from World War II from its transatlantic ally.
It is hard from a modern viewpoint to appreciate the astronomical costs and economic damage caused by this conflict. In 1945, Britain badly needed money to pay for reconstruction and also to import food for a nation worn down after years of rationing.
“In a nutshell, everything we got from America in World War II was free,” says economic historian Professor Mark Harrison, of Warwick University.
“The loan was really to help Britain through the consequences of post-war adjustment, rather than the war itself. This position was different from World War I, where money was lent for the war effort itself.”
America armed, fed and clothed Britain for nearly four years….for free. The debt you speak of was post war. American are grateful, however, to Britain for repayment.
