The Wikipedia article is outdated for the US. Public debt was spiking even before the new bailout package (.5 trillion?) and the costs of FNM/FRE liabilities.

The Wikipedia article is outdated for the US. Public debt was spiking even before the new bailout package (.5 trillion?) and the costs of FNM/FRE liabilities. While entitlements are definitely a long run problem, I think we have a more immediate one: the willingness of other countries to keep trusting US govt debt. It doesn't matter what our debt/GDP ratio is if our creditors think we'll debase our way out of what we owe. We should know the answer to that one within a year. We live in interesting times.