Well, At Least The US Has Less Debt Than Japan...

Chart courtesy of meridian macro research

According to Meridian Macro Research, "when we include corporate, mortgage, and personal interest payments to the Federal Government and State and Local Government interest payments the total more than doubles to a record $1.77 trillion. For purposes of comparison, these payments are just $100 billion shy of Total US Corporate Profits (saar), greater than (12 month) Individual Tax Receipts collected by the US Treasury, greater than (12-month) Social Security + Medicare + Veteran Benefit Outlays, and greater than Canada's GDP (10th largest economy in the world)."

So, increases in the Fed Funds Rate will do what to this number (hint: it won't make it smaller)? Just think of what happens to Japan once their rates increase. Japan makes the debt ridden US look like a mere bump in the road. But, pile it on, what's the worst that can happen, right..?