national debt

American national debt has been largely ignored by politicians. The divide between rich and poor is already growing and I fear that the national debt crisis will only increase its growth. Without immediate action, I predict that the standard of living for my generation will sharply decline and important federal programs like Medicare and Social Security will be substantially cut back.

Let’s face it, the nation’s budget dilemmas are not the sexiest topic in the world.

My late father, who loved Fifties-era country music and hated debt, often used to mutter the chorus from this song at moments of financial stress, like back-to-school shopping and the State of the Union address.

The Senate tossed its paygo problem back to the House last night, passing a fix to the alternative minimum tax without a tax increase or anything else to offset the $50 billion cost.

The Senate is still stalled on fixing the alternative minimum tax, a deadlock that could, at a minimum, mean that next year’s tax refunds will be delayed for millions of people.

If I thought it would get past their spam filters -- or their staff members -- I'd e-mail this AP story on the national debt to every member of Congress.

Nine trillion is a staggering number. It’s hard to comprehend. Yet that’s how much the United States government owes at its current national debt. That’s more than triple the total federal budget ($2.6 trillion).

If there's any part of the It's Time to Pay Our Bills report released today that deserves to be printed out and stuck on a politician's refrigerator, it's the six steps leaders can take to build public support for budget reform.