Part 3/10:
To understand the gravity of this situation, one needs to consider how governmental debt is assessed. Debt, when viewed alone, does not present the entire picture. The critical metric is how that debt relates to the economy's overall size, measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP). While the government borrows more each year, it often doesn't appear as though the debt is escalating — thanks largely to an increment in GDP, which has been bolstered by both economic growth and inflation.