simply looking at the debt is a very one-dimensional way of assessing the economy
at least look at it as a percentage of nominal GDP

also, before citing something like "each citizen owes 31,000 dollars toward the debt" keep in mind the percentage of the debt HELD by the public (did your grandma ever buy you a savings bond?)
this of course adds yet another dimension to looking at the debt trend, for example the steady reduction in the 30 years following WW2 were likely a direct result of war bonds being paid out
the reduction during the clinton administration probably owed more to the end of the cold war than clinton himself
This post has been edited by lordvader129: Jul 27 2008, 08:11 PM