India is at a political as much as an economic threshold.

ECONOMIST: India��s next 50 years

On the other hand, Europe took an austerity route, but fared no better, and is on the threshold of an economic meltdown.

FORBES: Confusion can be a good thing (and will lead to prosperity)

The problem was not with the concept of debt intolerance, but rather with the portrayal of the 90 percent level as some sort of natural threshold beyond which economic growth rates would be severely curtailed.

FORBES: Narrow focus on debt and deficits distracts us from the primary problems

Key GOP leaders, such as House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and presidential aspirant Gov. Tim Pawlenty, have recently stepped forward with ambitious, and at least threshold-credible, economic growth agendas.

FORBES: The Wealth Of The States Vs. 'New Normal' Stagnation

Mr. Laffer, chairman of Laffer Associates and the Laffer Center for Supply-Side Economics, is co-author, with Stephen Moore, of "Return to Prosperity: How America Can Regain Its Economic Superpower Status" (Threshold, 2010).

WSJ: Arthur B. Laffer: Class Warfare and the Buffett Rule

Economists Carmen Reinhart and Ken Rogoff triggered a vigorous round of naysaying earlier this year when they released a paper suggesting a government debt-to-gross domestic product ratio of 90% is a magic threshold beyond which debt can stifle economic growth.

FORBES: Growing Federal Debt Threatens To Strangle Recovery