[kaesar14]

I don't think it's 'awful' for a person to live in debt. The richest Americans have loads of debt. A significant part of the American Dream is to own a house which is essentially debt. Perhaps the argument is more about whether the US government is drowning in debt more akin to CC debt (bad debt) or mortgage debt (good debt) but in the abstract, leverage is a perfectly fine thing for a government to use in order to fund its development.

[nxm]

Debt is also how economies and a lot of companies grow

[HideousKojima]

They could also grow by saving and reinvesting surpluses/profits

[logicchains]

The American dream is to "own" a house, not to own a mortgage.

[anon291]

You do not own a mortgage. You have sold a mortgage.