Since U.S. saving rates were very low (roughly one-third of Japan's,) the deficit was mostly covered by borrowing from abroad, turning the United States within a few years from the world's greatest creditor nation to the world's greatest debtor.
アメリカ合衆国の預金率は大変低かった（日本のそれのおよそ3分の1）ので、赤字は海外からの借金で補われ、数年間でアメリカ合衆国を世界最大の債権国から世界最大の債務国に転落させた。