national debt

Vast amounts of analysis are pouring out across the Internet today about President Obama's new budget, so much that it's hard for anyone not versed in the issue to keep up.

In a torrent of budget news, the Wall Street Journal's interactive graphic of the federal budget process is something to make you laugh or cry, as you prefer.

The idea of a bipartisan commission to draft a plan to get the federal budget on a sound footing has been embraced by President Obama and Congressional leaders, and will likely be a major point in next week's State of the Union speech.

One of the biggest problems in getting Americans engaged on the nation's fiscal challenges is that the problem is so hard for most people to get their arms around. The numbers are so huge, the issues so arcane and the problems so daunting that people may get angry about it, but have no idea how to grab onto it.

The national debt and federal budget deficit affects all of us, by shaping the choices we face each day, but the younger you are, the greater the