, Columnist
Staggering US Deficits Call for a Debt-to-GDP Limit
Money down the drain.
Photographer: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty ImagesI recently went to the doctor about a minor health issue. “Is what I’m experiencing normal?” I asked her. “No, it’s never normal,” she said, “but it happens to almost everybody.” I thought: That pretty much sums up the problem of national debt.
After all, it’s been normal for America to run up the federal deficit since the mid-1980s. In fact, it’s become normal for almost every developed country to carry burdensome debt. But what’s considered normal should not be confused with how a healthy government should work.