For one, people have different stages of their life. People, at some point, no longer earn income, and so, it makes sense to plan your debt within your lifecycle of income generation. While you may retire or die some day, there is no date at which the US government stops taxation. The whole idea of "paying back a loan" really only makes sense in the context of a borrower who has limited time to do so.
Secondly, when you borrow money, you borrow it from other people. Most US debt is in the form of treasuries issued to American people and businesses. The people offering the loans to the US government are the often same ones benefiting from it. It's less like "buying a pizza on a credit card" and more like "lending my wife $20 to pick up groceries for dinner".
Thirdly, the US government controls monetary policy. If you want rack up debt on your credit card, you have to pay the interest rate that the credit card company wants, and you have to pay it in the denominations they ask for. The US government controls the monetary supply and the interest rate at which they obtain debt.
And there are many more differences, like the fact that institutions trust storing their wealth in debt issued to global nuclear powers, more so than they trust issuing it to the average Joe on the street.
Secondly, when you borrow money, you borrow it from other people. Most US debt is in the form of treasuries issued to American people and businesses. The people offering the loans to the US government are the often same ones benefiting from it. It's less like "buying a pizza on a credit card" and more like "lending my wife $20 to pick up groceries for dinner".
Thirdly, the US government controls monetary policy. If you want rack up debt on your credit card, you have to pay the interest rate that the credit card company wants, and you have to pay it in the denominations they ask for. The US government controls the monetary supply and the interest rate at which they obtain debt.
And there are many more differences, like the fact that institutions trust storing their wealth in debt issued to global nuclear powers, more so than they trust issuing it to the average Joe on the street.