Wow! And Time actually pays you for your opinion...amazing.  You say, "Why does GDP matter to the debt equation? Faster GDP growth boosts tax revenues for the government because individuals and companies produce more income, and therefore, hopefully, pay more to Uncle Sam."  First, when considering the GPD equation, the term Government Purchases (G) is the only term that will be "boosted" in the foreseeable future; however, for obvious reasons, I don't expect it will solve the debt problem as you hope. Likewise, I don't believe it will generate wealth, produce more income, or increase tax revenues.  Remember, the government does not create wealth or produce income; it only receives money, through taxation, from its citizens in the form of receipts. Equally, the government doesn't refer to its receipts as neither income nor revenue for that reason.  If you take the term G out of the GDP equation, one can accurately measure the private sector's ability to generate wealth. When done so, the debt surpassed GDP in 2009, and that hasn't happened since WWII. In comparison, the GDP less government purchases was $11.4 billion, and the debt was $12.1 billion (both chained to 2010).  As I'm sure you are aware, the OMB has released the FY 2011 budget proposal. In it, the administration itself claims the debt is currently 93.2% of GDP, and it's forecasted to eclipse GDP next year -- 102.6%. Moreover, by 2013, the debt will be 106.0% of GDP. Now, that assumes that there will be a boom in employment, which there won't be. And, that our credit rating won't be increased, which it will be (this will balloon our debt interest payments, which will make it the single largest function category in the federal budget).  Additionally, again, if you eliminate the term G, the current GDP less government purchases is reported at $11.8 trillion; whereas, the debt is at $14 trillion -- a deficit of $(2.2) trillion. Hence, the debt has already eclipsed the private sector's ability to generate wealth. Put another way, the debt is 119% of GDP less government purchases.  Third, when it comes to reporting the debt, the CBO, that's Congress of course (the ones who love to spend our money), live in a fantasy world. It's the only government reporting entity that reports the debt as you've described in your article. The OMB, GPO, BEA and Treasury all agree and report it as I've described it.  Lastly, although the CBO, run by Congress, reports the debt as you've descibed, Congress does report it agreement with OMB, GPO, BEA and Treasury annually in its concurrent budget resolution.
Obama talks budget cuts (Kevin Lamarque/REUTERS) Washington is absorbed with how much it has to cut in order to get our financial house in order.