The celebrated debt-to-GDP ratio is a charming little statistic that keeps economists and politicians busy while the real arithmetic sits in the corner, ignored. Without interest rates, it is roughly as useful as a speedometer with no engine attached. Glance at the stretch from 1995 to 2008 and the needle barely twitches. Debt hovered in a polite range while growth did some of the heavy lifting and rates drifted downward like a polite guest leaving early. Then 2008 arrived, caution was shown the door, and the ratio began its determined march upward. COVID delivered the final shove, launching the figure into the 120-percent neighborhood where it now lounges with the confidence of someone who never plans to pay the check.
