The amount has to be taken into context with the "value of the dollar."

When I was 18, the super-goal was a "5-figure income." The minimum wage was less than $1 per hour, and a top-of-the-line new car was in the $2,500 range (+ $500). The very first house I ever bought, brand new 3-bedroom, was $14,400, and I can't even get a decent car for that today.

So, when we look at the debt, the real question is whether the debt of today is higher or lower (significantly so) in the ratio of past-debt-to-past-income. If the debt ratio is higher, then it also has to be compared to various tax rate ratios (income, gas, death, etc.) of today versus yesteryear and the government services available now versus then. If we don't do that, we have no true picture of the "state of the union."