Debt-financed spending is not "growth"

Why the U.S. GDP number may be as bogus as a three-dollar bill - The Globe and Mail: "People would have a truer gauge of the economy’s performance if the government provided what he calls “structural” GDP, which does not include debt-financed consumption. Currently, per capita GDP in the U.S. is not far off an all-time high. But excluding deficit spending, the real number is 10 per cent below the peak reached in 2007. Indeed, it has fallen back to levels not seen since 1998."