The Hill News

Just last week, a financial shock wave swept across Europe as Greece narrowly averted economic collapse by securing its second major bailout in as many years.

While markets everywhere breathed a sigh of relief that the $172 billion rescue package temporarily saved Greece from insolvency, the forecast for continued stability remains in doubt.

Could what’s happening in Greece actually happen here in America? To some extent, it already has. Greece and the United States are two of the seven countries in the world with a national debt that exceeds total economic output.

Among advanced economies, the United States and Greece join Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan and Portugal on the list of nations whose debt is greater than their gross domestic product (GDP). The last time America’s debt topped the size of its overall economy was in 1947, due to the costs incurred in World War II. Today there is no excuse for spending more than we’re taki! ng in. Frankly, it’s a recipe for disaster.

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