US national debt

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Crisis Myth

It is a myth that the US national debt is currently (2014) in a state of crisis. Consider the following facts:

1. When trying to determine whether [[national debt is excessive or not, the figure to watch is the ratio of debt to GDP.
2. In particular, it is a matter of concern if the debt ratio is high and increasing. If it is going down, and projected to continue to do so, then it's fair to describe the debt as "under control".
3. Reducing a deficit too quickly can result in long-term economic downturns, making it much harder to reduce over the long run.
4. While the US's ratio is high (70%), it is not extraordinarily so.
5. Current laws, as of 2013, are projected to reduce it still further (58%) by 2022.
6. As of February 2014, the deficit has already been falling steadily since 2009 -- whether you look at ratio or absolute dollars (although it is expected to worsen for a few years after this due to various factors).
7. There is therefore no reason to panic about current deficit levels.
8. The best way to reduce the deficit is to improve the economy.
9. Spending cuts which hurt the long-term health of the economy are therefore not just unnecessary but actually harmful -- like eating your seed corn to save money.
10. Many of the people now attempting to enhance public concern over debt levels are the same people who spent the Clinton surplus during the Bush years, and who refuse to raise taxes on the rich (which would be helpful both towards reducing the deficit and towards lessening income disparity, itself a serious and growing economic and social problem).
11. We should therefore regard such claims with high levels of cynicism, and look for other evidence to determine the truth.

Notes

Originally posted here as part of a debate with someone who maintained that the crisis is real; as of this writing, there has been no response.