Percentage of debt to GDP.

Bow-gus!

In billions of dollars:
1997 GDP: 8,318.4
2002 GDP: 10446.2

Compare that to the national debt for the same years. It's close, so use a
calculator.

While the difference is slight, the current debt is *higher than*, not *less
than* the debt to GDP ratio in 1997.

GDP is a deceptive figure anyway, as it includes the appreciation of primary
residence real estate as some sort of actual wealth or economic production.
Planning to sell your house and live in a tent any time soon?
Subtract the appreciation of residential real estate, and watch the comparsion
skew right off the chart. We are way the hell out of whack from where we were
in the 90's.

When interest rates go back up to service the debt, those house prices will
take a mighty tumble. People will spend as much for a house as the monthly
payments allow. When a lot more of that payment is going for interest, guess
what has to give?