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This article does a good job of explaining things. I remember from Econ 101 in college that my professor said "the national debt isn't anything to worry about because governments don't have life expectancies." ((Paraphrased))

But Washington isn't just confused about the short run; it's also confused about the long run. For while debt can be a problem, the way our politicians and pundits think about debt is all wrong, and exaggerates the problem's size.

Deficit-worriers portray a future in which we're impoverished by the need to pay back money we've been borrowing. They see America as being like a family that took out too large a mortgage, and will have a hard time making the monthly payments.

Read the article at NYTimes.com for more.