With many developed countries more focused on managing their national debt than at any time in recent memory, the debate brewing in the U.S. Congress over raising America's debt ceiling above its current $14.3 trillion is attracting attention. Beyond the potential deadlock between the Democratic and Republican parties is the larger question of the long-term health of the U.S. economy and the role of the U.S. as the preeminent financial power in the world. It's hard to ignore the fact, for instance, that the U.S. general (total) government budget deficit as a share of GDP was 11.3% in 2009--similar to that of the U.K. and Spain (both 11.2%) and somewhat higher than that of Japan (10.8%) and Portugal (9.3%), although
