This is what I speculate as well. The Western world is composed of ever-expanding government programs and huge welfare states (thanks female voters). There is nothing so permanent as a temporary government program, and the gibsmedat only ever ratchets one way. So even the political class types who think/say, "we can print/spend our way out of this, don't worry the Fed will fix it later" know we will hit a breaking point and that the tab will have to be paid. But they've had no real plan on how to deal with it except by just denying it's going to happen eventually, by outsourcing our debt to other countries, and by vaguely hoping the other team will be holding the ball when everything falls and they'll hold a monopoly on political power.
And suddenly they have the perfect excuse to cause a controlled demolition. (Not that they were surprised. They have thinktanks gaming this kind of shit out constantly and are probably always looking for opportunities.) And if they pull it off, they can "reset" the clock and escape responsibility (for a few decades, maybe) for the obviously inevitable, self-destructive nature of what they've enabled: fat, lazy, self-obsessed Western masses who have actually bought the comforting lie that they deserve resources because they're alive. Stupid, cowardly cattle who value the promise of security over the scary risk of freedom and self-determination.
And if that's what we demand, who are they to deny it to us?