Is rising US public debt sustainable? | csmonitor.com

Is rising US public debt sustainable? | csmonitor.com:

"At $8.3 trillion, it breaks the legal limit, fueling a fiscal debate in Congress.

Between 1989 and 2000, the electronic display near New York's Times Square tracked the rise of the nation's red ink until it reached $5.7 trillion. When it shut down, the federal budget was running a surplus.

Today, the national debt totals $8.3 trillion, a level that could force Congress this week to raise the debt ceiling for the fourth time in George W. Bush's presidency.

The prevote debate may be tinged by election-year rhetoric, but the underlying issue goes beyond partisan politics. The rising debt tally is a reminder, economists say, that the nation is on an unsustainable fiscal course.

The economic burden posed by the national debt, economists say, is more serious now than in 1980, when a $1 trillion figure stirred national anxiety. Today, the public debt is larger as a share of the American economy, more than half is held by foreigners, and the wave of baby-boomer retirements is no longer decades away."