[ssiguy]

The US FEDERAL debt is $9 trillion but that doesn't include state debts which equal $2.3 trillion. When added together they represent 80% of GDP. Very high by OECD averages.
In 1992 Canada had the highest percapita debt in the G8 with combined federal and provincial debt at a staggering 96% and 79% of that was federal. A whopping one third of all federal taxes went to just pay the interest on the nation debt.
Even the World Bank was getting worried so we had to make the sacrifices to get the books back in the black. Within 3 years Canada had a balanced budget and has had a balanced/surplus budgets since. We have actually paid off 14% of our debt. No other OECD country has managed to have debt repayment and balanced budgets.

Our federal debt to GDP has plunged from 79% of GDP to just 29% and will be under 25% within 3 years or less.
The combined federal/provincial debt per capita has been halved from 96% to 49% and continues to fall. By 2019 the federal government will out of net federal debt and the combined fed/prov will have dropped to an estimated 21%.
How did we do it?.........spending cuts, no tax cuts we couldn't afford and even added a few smaller targeted ones. In other words, we bit the bullet and because of it Canada's fiscal future is secure unluike yours. Your debt and debt to GDP continue to rise with your social security unferfunded whereas ours is.
It also took a true social change. At the time many Canadians say the problem as troubling but not an emergency but that has TOTALLY changed. No federal government would even dare, regardless of political stripe, would do anything but balance the books and pay down the debt. Every budget since 1995 has not only been balanced but hasd a MINIMUM of $3 billion in debt repayment. That's equivalent of paying your debt down by $30 bil/year.
We have always done better that that $3 billion and the debt has actually declined by nearly $100 bil in the last 11 years which is slightly over one trillion in US economy terms.

The American public doesn't seem to realize how horrid your situation is which is why tax cuts are still the order of the day eventhough you can't afford them. This combined with all Bush's pet projects and a massively expensive war in Iraq and there you have it.

The funny thing is that 33% of all fed income going to pay interest on the national debt has dropped to just 10% and military, health, and social welfare funding has increased massively to provide even better services to a country with an already very extensive social welfare system AND has resulted in the biggest income and corporate tax cuts in Canadian history.

The lesson?.............short term pain for long term gain. Canada in the 90s really did have to bite the bullet but due to their sacrifice our future is secure for both the short and long term.

If it requires hyperboyle then so be it but Americans must be made aware in no uncertain terms that the country is near the brink and living on borrowed time is no longer an option.........period.