Reader "X." wrote an article Re: State Government Debt Levels, in which the author makes the case that the US income to debt ratio is approximately 1:1. I think the author mixed facts to come up with a mathematical equality where none exists. I repeat in totality the paragraph where this is stated:

"The trepidation most of us feel when thinking of the current level of debt (not to be confused with deficit) is likely well-founded. Individuals tend to think of things in relation to themselves; in other words, I earn $56,000 yearly, and I owe $212,000 on my home, and perhaps $12,000 on a car loan. So my yearly income relative to my total debt (good/bad/ugly) is 1:4.