\u201cYou have so little room to respond during the next crisis,\u201d MacGuineas says.<\/p>\n
In reality, though, it\u2019s unlikely bond investors will hesitate to finance additional U.S. spending to combat another downturn, Ashworth says. After all, he says, even if U.S. debt-to-GDP approaches 100 percent, that\u2019s still well below 130-percent-plus ratios in countries such as Italy and Japan.<\/p>\n
Chris Edwards, senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute, notes that while the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio is lower, its economy, and debt level, are much larger. He calls the deficit buildup “disastrous.”<\/p>\n
Capital Economics\u2019 Neil Shearing is more worried about political resistance in Congress to a massive stimulus if the nation\u2019s debt burden hits nosebleed levels.<\/p>\n
Zandi isn\u2019t concerned. \u201cIf we get into a mess, policymakers will ignore the deficit and do what they need to do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Yet MacGuineas says the patience of bondholders and lawmakers eventually will run thin.<\/p>\n
“We don’t know when that is, and we don’t want to try to find out.”<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Recent tax and spending legislation made our fiscal outlook worse, said Foundation CEO Michael Peterson. https:\/\/t.co\/Z7r14c2fwm<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Peterson Foundation (@pgpfoundation) February 6, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n