I agree. You are far from an economist. And admittingly so am I but Richard has a point.
"We pretty well all run deficits in our lives be it to buy a house (mortgage) or maybe even buy a car (C8ZR1). The big thing is to figure out how are we going to pay for it."
We all look to the future. To a time when our mortgage is paid off, our new C8ZR1 is paid for, and we have a surplus to allow us to live a bit more comfortably and without worry. The people that form our governments don't look towards a time when the debt is paid off because they don't care. That's just a number on a piece of paper to them and it doesn't affect their personal pocketbook or their lives. Our debt grows by $100 million dollars every second.
So it boils down to debt being good only if it is managed properly. If your family spent like our government, you would be in deep financial trouble with no way out, and when the financial institutions that carries your debt finally says 'enough is enough', bankruptcy or suicide will be your only options.
The government's only way out is to raise taxes and cut spending, which 99% of the population will go ballistic over once again, because like most (if they even understood national debt), they think it's just a number on a piece of paper that doesn't affect their lives either. There will come a time when we reach a 'junk' debt status, and massive cuts to spending will be the only way out, and that my friends is something that will open everyone's eyes.