You are right, it is because most Americans swim and sink in debt and why personal bankruptcy is on a constantly growing curve proportional to national debt.
I would agree - Americans on the whole do carry a lot of debt. But the reality is, you can't get a credit card or a bank loan if you don't have a job.
At this time, the world's debt-to-GDP total is around 300%; in the US, it's 330% (total Gummints, corporate, and individual debts.)
Unprecedented, period. Last time it was anywhere NEAR that high was just after 1929, and then it was only 200%, worldwide.