gross is oh so clever.

he uses "deficit" and "debt" in the same sentence (they're not the same), then assures that the current $1.4 trillion is not worrisome, probably leading slate's economically illiterate editors to erroneously conclude the "debt" is that low.

for the record - $1.4 trillion is how much the debt grew this year. $12 trillion is the total debt we owe.

how much is $12 trillion? oh . .. its about $120,000 per american family. (there are about 100 million households in america)

gross assures you this is not a problem

i say gross should provide a historical example of ANY other country where the national debt is is triple the median household income.

this is a fricking train wreck.

the national debt goes up about $4 billion (with a B) daily

gross is an idiot.

if you're reassured by gross's column then YOU'RE an idiot

How did we do it before?

http://zfacts.com/p/318.html

Our DEBT/GDP ratio has been much higher than it is today.

Maybe I'm in the minority but knowing that the only time we had a higher debt/GDP ratio was in the middle of the largest national war mobilization we've ever had ain't exactly a reassuring statistic.

america liquidated the national debt through the largest peacetime expansion of corporations in history.

from detroit (automobiles) to passenger jetliners to office equipment (ibm, xerox) and on and on . . . everything we made turned to gold, and was in demand by export markets (europe and asia)

that scenario isn't anywhere on the horizon now. americans buy cars from japan and korea. half our aricraft are made by airbus. our PCs and iPhones are assembled in china. And obama wants higher taxes and regulation, which will only drive MORE jobs overseas.

THATs problem, old gaffer. We're facing long term structural unemployment - rather than worldwide demand for our goods and services.

We missed the boat years ago when Bush threw out pay/go and cut taxes with no compensating cut in spending. He was the worst fiscal President in this countries history. And the repubs think we want them back in power? Now here we are, deficit spending or economic collapse, pick one.

Baltimore Aureole: i say gross should provide a historical example of ANY other country where the national debt is is triple the median household income.

LeRoy: Try Japan, today. Or also Italy, today.

Which is not to say that we shouldn't be worried about the fiscal health of those countries, as well.........