If GDP is growing equally fast in both countries but with dramatically different levels of indebtedness, you can unequivocally claim one is more productive than the other at present.
Sure, either country might invent the next AI in the future.
But if we're assuming debt-fueled government investment is what results in this future growth (big assumption), then the less indebted competitor still has the capacity to take on all the debt they aren't shouldering at present to grow even faster.
> If GDP is growing equally fast in both countries but with dramatically different levels of indebtedness, you can unequivocally claim one is more productive than the other at present.
Sure, either country might invent the next AI in the future.
But if we're assuming debt-fueled government investment is what results in this future growth (big assumption), then the less indebted competitor still has the capacity to take on all the debt they aren't shouldering at present to grow even faster.