This is an update on the U.S. government debt.  I’ve written about this before, but wanted to be among the first to share some bad news with you.  Here it is:

U.S. Debt to GDP Ratio

Yes, you’re reading that correctly.  In the first quarter, the actual ratio was 100.64%.  As always, my methodology is reasonably transparent.  Click here to download the Excel 2011 workbook.  That puts the U.S. above France and Germany but at least we’re still below Italy, Greece, … oh, wait, that isn’t good news at all.

As a side note, the Obama administration continues to bury data on government web sites.  The Treasure site has virtually no data except interest rates.  However, the actual numbers have been replaced by some new, shiny graphs.  Luckily, I can use the St. Louis Fed’s FRED database to get most of what I need.  The Bureau of Economic Analysis still publishes nominal GDP.

I’m gonna open a bottle of wine.