How dangerous is America's debt?

In the past three weeks, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released two reports that seem to justify contradictory fiscal policies. The first calculated that the U.S. economy could be thrown into recession because of existing legislation to reduce the deficit sharply next year (the so-called fiscal cliff). The second projected that the U.S. is headed for an eventual financial crisis if the deficit is not reduced sharply. So what are we supposed to do? Obviously, America’s debt is a problem – but is it a clear and present danger, or just something we need to deal with as circumstances permit? To understand how to make smart policy choices that address both these issues, it’s helpful to take the debt numbers apart. Read more: http://business.time.com/2012/06/12/how-dangerous-is-americas-debt/#ixzz1xaDX4vu2