Aw hell Rem, you never let anyone get away with nothing around here.;-) Personally, I've never been a member of the "never a borrower or lender be" crowd. For me, a deficit about six percent gdp and a debt around 60 % shouldn't stand in the way of increasing real wages and wealth. I must protest, I'm really very easy-going. For example, I will not make too big a deal about the double-negative in your first sentence! (I suspect that you were setting me up with that since you italicized the second negative.) Anyhow, I'm sure that, like me, you actually like having people to keep you honest.
Regarding the debt, I'm not as worried about the current 60 percent of GDP debt as I am about the fact that we are increasing it at a time that we should be preparing for the Boomer retirement. The following graph shows the projected debt, receipts, and outlays over the next 70 years, as given in the most recent U.S. Budget:
The sources and actual numbers can be seen at http://home.att.net/~rdavis2/pro2006.html. As can be seen, the debt is projected to reach 249 percent of GDP in 2075.
...I'm not as worried about the current 60 percent of GDP debt as I am about the fact that we are increasing it...
We may have different understandings of what's going on. I checked public debt (from here) and gdp (from here) and calculated it (here) and I don't see a problem. Sure, we're up from the dip that ended 9/11, but we're no where near the peak in '96. What I got is that the economy recovered, and the debt % made a lower peak and is now tapering off. I honestly can't see what you're worried about.
Even the long range projections you shared in post 314 has debt under control for a decade until the Social Security tax scam is no longer able to continue cheating the public. Which is why phasing it out starting now is the only serious way to correct those projections.
From where I see it, we're in good shape and getting better. This runs against the Religion of Doom preached by the disciples of misery, but I can't find any way around this good news. I don't even think the regime change everyone here seems to want can 'help' us.
