Dec 072010
Debt comparisons among nations are somewhat crude and sometimes dangerous because of differences in accounting, off-balance sheet tricks, unfunded liabilities, etc. Conclusions, if any, should be drawn carefully.
This chart shows countries with their reported government debt as a percentage of their GDP. The US is right up their with the PIIGS.
Note that no unfunded liabilities (social security, medicare) are included for any countries. Nor are the liabilities of Fannie and Freddie, which are now very large US government liabilities, even though they are not accounted for as such.
The chart was sent to me via email without any source reference.
