SEN. GREGG NEEDS A NEW PHRASE

and probably a few courses in macro-economics.

Gregg: U.S. could be on path to a 'banana republic' situation
Posted: October 18th, 2009 03:08 PM ET

From CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

WASHINGTON (CNN) – A leading fiscal mind on Capitol Hill and a one-time Obama Cabinet pick sounded the alarm Sunday over the projected long-term financial challenges the country faces.

The figures, Gregg told King, “mean we’re basically on the path to a banana-republic-type of financial situation in this country. And you just can’t do that. You can’t keep running these [federal] programs out [into the future] and not paying for them. And you can’t keep throwing debt on top of debt.”

According to the CIA's World Fact Book, in 2007 our national debt was 60.80% of GDP and in 2008, Mexico's was 19.30%. Who do you think has the better economy?

Here's the complete table:

1 Zimbabwe 259.40
2 Japan 173.00
3 Lebanon 164.30
4 Jamaica 109.60
5 Italy 105.90
6 Singapore 99.20
7 Greece 97.40
8 Sudan 93.50
9 Belgium 89.10
10 Egypt 85.90
11 Seychelles 82.10
12 Bhutan 81.40
13 Iceland 80.90
14 Israel 78.00
15 Sri Lanka 76.70
16 Hungary 68.60
17 France 68.10
18 Portugal 66.40
19 Germany 64.40
20 Canada 63.80
21 Ghana 62.30
22 Jordan 62.30
23 India 61.30
24 United States 60.80
25 Cote d'Ivoire 60.30
26 Austria 60.20
27 Morocco 59.70
28 Uruguay 59.70
29 Kenya 58.30
30 Netherlands 58.20
31 Mauritius 56.60
32 Philippines 56.30
33 Nicaragua 53.20
34 United Kingdom 52.00
35 Albania 51.90
36 Pakistan 49.80
37 Cyprus 49.10
38 Malawi 48.90
39 Argentina 48.40
40 Tunisia 48.40
41 Croatia 46.80
42 Aruba 46.30
43 Vietnam 45.50
44 Panama 45.30
45 Poland 45.20
46 Norway 44.20
47 El Salvador 42.90
48 Colombia 42.80
49 United Arab Emirates 42.30
50 Costa Rica 42.20
51 Ireland 41.80
52 Malaysia 41.20
53 Bolivia 41.00
54 Switzerland 40.90
55 Spain 40.30
56 Bosnia and Herzegovina 40.00
57 Turkey 40.00
58 Montenegro 38.00
59 Thailand 37.90
60 Dominican Republic 37.30
61 Papua New Guinea 37.20
62 Serbia 37.00
63 Brazil 36.90
64 Sweden 36.70
65 Cuba 35.80
66 Bangladesh 34.50
67 Yemen 34.40
68 Ethiopia 34.10
69 Finland 33.40
70 Denmark 33.30
71 South Africa 31.60
72 Macedonia 30.60
73 Taiwan 29.80
74 Zambia 29.50
75 Bahrain 28.90
76 Slovakia 28.70
77 Indonesia 28.60
78 Czech Republic 26.80
79 Ecuador 26.70
80 Syria 26.70
81 Trinidad and Tobago 26.10
82 New Zealand 24.60
83 Korea, South 24.40
84 Peru 24.00
85 Guatemala 23.60
86 Tanzania 23.60
87 Paraguay 23.20
88 Slovenia 23.00
89 Namibia 22.70
90 Moldova 22.50
91 Honduras 21.60
92 Mozambique 21.40
93 Venezuela 20.40
94 Gabon 19.80
95 Iran 19.70
96 Latvia 19.50
97 Mexico 19.30
98 Saudi Arabia 18.90
99 Uganda 17.40
100 Senegal 16.40
101 China 16.20
102 Gibraltar 15.70
103 Lithuania 15.60
104 Bulgaria 15.20
105 Nigeria 14.70
106 Romania 14.70
107 Cameroon 14.30
108 Australia 13.90
109 Hong Kong 13.90
110 Uzbekistan 10.80
111 Ukraine 10.30
112 Luxembourg 10.20
113 Algeria 9.90
114 Kazakhstan 8.90
115 Angola 8.70
116 Kuwait 7.50
117 Russia 6.70
118 Azerbaijan 5.90
119 Botswana 5.90
120 Wallis and Futuna 5.60
121 Chile 5.20
122 Estonia 4.80
123 Qatar 4.80
124 Libya 4.20
125 Oman 2.70
126 Equatorial Guinea 0.90