The debt is not nearly as scary as you think: government budgets are nothing like family budgets

We have to live within our means. That's what President Obama repeatedly tells us, echoing a point Republicans have been making for years. Like households, governments must husband our resources and balance our budgets, or future generations will surely pay. There's a problem here. The analogy is ridiculous. Government budgets - and the U.S. budget in particular - are absolutely nothing like a household budget.