This article by Gary North really puts the debt issue into context. I must warn it is more libertarian/politically charged than economically, but it certainly makes the economic case. http://lewrockwell.com/north/north1081.html
A quick answer would be that the presently accumulated debt will be payed off with future taxes or by the FED creating new money to pay off the debt which will devalue your money and is thus another form of taxation.
