We have a GDP of 15 Trillion and our debt is 16 trillion. We aren’t really broke. That is like saying to someone who makes 50 thousand but has 53 thousand in debt that he is broke. No he just has to pay off that 53,000 dollars in debt. The debt is large but as long as the 50K person pays their monthly bills they are fine.
We are broke and you are confusing macro economics with micro economics.
In micro economics, you can work more and bring your budget into balance (as long as everyone else keeps their behavior the same).
In macro economics, if you (and everyone else) works more, you get an oversupply situation and prices crash and everyone goes bankrupt.
Example: one farmer decides to grow twice as many crops and doubles his income. But all the farmers decide to grow twice as much, everyone goes bankrupt.
Sorry, but that “$16 Trillion” doesn’t include trillions more in liabilities (SS, Medicare, Medicaid, etc.).
And, of course, the dumbasses are still using the credit card for $40 of every 100 they spend.
The Federales still aren’t broke - they have enormous assets in mineral rich land - but I can’t see them using these assets to dig themselves out of the hole.
How did that hypothetical person get $53K in debt? Probably because they couldn't pay their monthly bills with $50K.