MILAN — Italians and other Europeans have serious problems addressing their own national debts, public and private, so it may seem immodest for a European to discuss America's growing and grave debt problem.
But the fiscal realities on both sides of the Atlantic nowadays are very similar, and only lingering trust in the promise of America keeps alive the expectation among some Europeans that some grand American maneuver will resolve the country's dire debt situation.
Of course, many Americans recognize the scale of the country's debt burden. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and thus America's highest-ranking military officer, recently said, "The greatest danger to American security comes from the national debt."