It is an open secret that the United States is among the nations
with a huge national debt, both relative to its gross domestic
product as well as in absolute terms. In fact, the dollar value
of its debt is the highest in the world.  The total American
debt stands close to $16 trillion and is equal to its GDP.
Furthermore, it is rising much faster than national output. Of
course, almost the entire world is awash in debt, especially
some nations in Europe. The so-called PIIGS nations Portugal,
Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain have larger debts relative to
their GDP.  However, there is a major difference between the
debt situation in the U.S. and other nations. While PIIGS are
trying to reduce their indebtedness, the United States seems to
be in no hurry to do so.  There was a time when economists
disliked the idea of a persistent budget deficit, but the Great
Depression in the 1930s led to a change in this thinking. A
British economist named John Maynard Keynes wrote a book in
1936, arguing that recessions and