All that matters is the comparison between debt to GDP ratio, interest rates, deficit and nominal GDP growth (that is: “real” growth + inflation) see: Let R be

All that matters is the comparison between debt to GDP ratio, interest rates, deficit and nominal GDP growth (that is: “real” growth + inflation) see: Let R be the debt/GDP ratio, g the “real” GDP growth, i the inflation rate, and r the interest rate, the deficit that stabilizes the debt/GDP ratio is the following: R(g+i-r). For the US in 2023 you have: g=3.3% r=2.9% R=120% i=3.4% Which means that the stabilizing deficit level is 4.5%. So the current deficit is 2% higher than it should. And at this deficit level, the debt/GDP ratio would stabilize around 170%, it won't “spiral out of control”. That being said, even though the death spiral narrative is BS, the fact that governments of developed countries stopped taxing the rich and started borrowing from them instead is indeed a problem…