In the US the national debt in terms of GDP is 99.9%. We are only 5% behind them at 94.2% The UK, France, Germany, and all the PIIGS have national debt above 100% of GDP.
The US national debt is about $47,000 per person. That sounds like a lot. But what if they can bring the budget into surplus (eg bring the troops home, get GDP > 2.5%) and repay the debt in 10 years? By then a small increase in company and personal income tax wold clear it because it will have depreciated due to inflation. The US is lucky because they pay such small interest on their debt and are not desperate to pay it off.
Europe is a complete basket case! Bankrupt - and now wanting the IMF to bail them out.
The biggest problem with the US atm is having a lame duck president. A boom could be as simple as putting a tax break on housing construction (but the republicans prefer it to wait until they are in power).
