>>88
Debt is never a good thing. It is a necessary evil, but not good for you. This is true at the personal, business and government level.
Anybody in their right mind wouldn't argue that "debt is a good thing". If they truly gave a shit, though, there would be non-stop diplomatic talks with Mainland China, Japan and the UK (the three largest debtors) asking these countries to forgo some (if not all) the debt the US has. I see nothing of the sort happening.
Fact #2:
Same above.
Fact #3: If you can't afford to even maintain your interest payments, you fucked up. You didn't maintain a healthly budget. You didn't live within you means. You will go bankrupt. Your government will print more money and hyperinflation will fuck your nation hard.Fact #4: There is no law or rule that says you can't have a balanced budget or a surplus. You may always owe money, but there is no rule that says you must let it accumulate for no fucking reason.I don't know of a single nation on Earth that truly lives within its means (meaning absolutely no debt at all), but sure, the US could do to going an approach of such. Defense spending is what saps up most spending, and both parties seem intent on never cutting that, ever (the small little puny cuts don't even remotely go far enough).
A lot of what it has to do with is the fact that the US barely has a manufacturing sector anymore. Spending and World War II during the FDR years were just catalysts (not the real reason) that got the US out of the Great Depression, the fact that the US had an actual manufacturing sector is what got it out of the Depression. Until people get the idea that you need a manufacturing base to survive economically through their thick skulls, you're doomed to failure.