I guess we are on two different sheets of music.

We spend, let's say $3T a year. We generate through taxes let's say $2T. That leaves us $1T in the hole. These are just round, make believe numbers for my example. That $1T is borrowed and not generated from taxes (at this point). That borrowing occurs through the sale of bonds and other debt instruements from uncle sam. Someone buys those bonds. Uncle Sam guarantees the payment of the principle and some interest over the course of so many years. We are simply taking "future" money to pay a current debt. It is the tax payers who are paying the interest and principle on those bonds. Assuming the above very rough and dirty scenario is accurate, let's assume the writer of that article was accurate, that is, we could start selling off our national treasures. So, let's sell the white house. China buys it for $1T. The government can take that money and buy it's own bonds or use it as backing to convince some other party to buy our bonds. The current asset, e.g., white house, is now gone. We are no longer kicking the can down the road by tapping into future money being spent now. Plus, keep in mind that our currency will slide off the table as the world's reserve currency. Anywho, someone was right that this topic having been discussed to-death forever. It doesn't matter. On the one side, folks say the debt is bad and they use Detroit or bankruptcy court or whatever as their proof. On the other side, folks say the US can incur as much as it wants and it will never matter. Coincidentially, the one side is also republican and the other drank some cool aid. At this point, I only feel bad for my children who are going to be stuck with this situation at some point. Personally, I could care less. The voters got what they wanted, but I doubt the voting majority will ever pay the tab.