[monkeydreams]

> I wouldn't call debts of 30 trillion 'economically strong'.

> Anybody can live well if they are happy using their credit card and never expecting to pay it back.

You realise that countries do not retire, yes? And they have a goal of ensuring that their inflation is set between specific, low-but-positive bounds? This is what countries do and have done for centuries - they pay off the interest until the principle is eaten away by inflation. When you are functionally immortal this is an effective strategy.

We live in a period of historically low bond yields and interest rates. If a country has to effectively pay near zero interest, it is in their interests to loan as much as possible. So long as the debt load year-on-year is insignificant compared to the GDP, it is money for jam. The bond terms do not change just because domestic interest rates increase.

This is why you rarely hear non-partisan economists complain about debt load in the US. It's not a huge problem, especially compared with the degradation of secular institutions.