[ramesh31]

>Note, CA has the highest state level debt per person of any of the US states.

Meaningless. What matters is the ability to service that debt, and the value of the debt compared GDP.

Put more simply, would you rather be someone earning $20k/yr with no debt, or someone earning $100k/yr with $20k of debt?.

[mfer]

> What matters is the ability to service that debt, and the value of the debt compared GDP.

The value of the debt compared to GDP is really just part of being able to service the debt. Being able to service any debt is a good point and a complex factor when you take the long view. But, digging into that is more than hacker news comments.

> Put more simply, would you rather be someone earning $20k/yr with no debt, or someone earning $100k/yr with $20k of debt?.

This is one place people very much disagree. This gets into goals, values, etc. Do you want to make enough money to cover what you need or is your goal to just accumulate more money or stuff? People will look at this different and look at it differently for their government than for themselves.

Exploring the ideas we have on this and the reasons for those ideas is something I think is a good idea. It's a reflection on things we may not realize about ourselves.

[mmmpop]

Well, if I were the first person and my income stream disappeared, I'm now a hell of a lot better off than the person who has $20,000 in debt and also loses their income stream. Not to mention the costs of servicing that shitload of debt.

So idk if that's going to be your best choice of analogy here.

[pwinnski]

Instead of a person, then, call it ten people at different companies, so that all ten won't lose their jobs at once barring an event so catastrophic money will be meaningless.

The point is, absolute numbers aren't nearly as relevant as per GDP numbers.