The US is in a league of its own when it comes to its debt burden, as rating agencies bemoan ‘long-running deterioration’ in fiscal governance

The U.S. is now unmatched in a regrettable category. Among rich and spend-happy nations that are globally seen as safe investments, the U.S. beats out the competition when it comes to the size of its debt burden, as the nation’s public liabilities have exceeded the size of its economy for the first time since World War II. 

On Thursday, the nonpartisan watchdog Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB) announced that U.S. debt held by the public, estimated to be $31.27 trillion...