Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, authors of "This Time Is Different," say that a high debt-to-GDP ratio slows growth.
Yale's Robert Shiller argues that fiscal austerity to reduce debt can backfire -- as has been the case in debt-laden Japan.
U.S. debt shown in the chart above reflects debt held by the public -- that is, U.S. bonds bought by investors, but excluding money owed to government trust funds, such as Social Security and Medicare.
Democrats and Republicans are arguing fiercely over the proper size of the government. Money magazine looks at the facts -- how much we're spending and what we're spending it on.
