A $9,000,000,000,000 national deficit?

I wish we lived in a country where national debt actually alarmed voters. The White House is predicting predicts a 10-year federal deficit of $9 trillion! We are told that is more than all previous deficits since America's founding combined. Additionally, the White House says by the next decade's end, the national debt will equal three-quarters of the entire U.S. economy. Why are Americans not absolutely outraged and pressuring lawmakers to cut the government credit card? Perhaps we don't mind because we all live this way in our personal lives, with credit cards, home-equity loans, and so on.

One must wonder if people really understand what $9 trillion dollars means? Here's what it looks like: $9,000,000,000,000. This is what Americans need to see in order to understand that this is where the nation's debt is headed unless we take radical steps to stop borrowing money to spend on hunches, social experiments, and programs we know will not work. To do otherwise is nothing less than grossly irresponsible.

According to The Associated Press story linked to above, the public national debt, made up of amounts the government owes to the public, including foreign governments, posted Tuesday at $7.4 trillion. Excuse me, I should have written, "$7,400,000,000,000." In the private sector only a banker who was hoping to get fired would allow an institution with this much-leveraged debt to borrow one penny. Politicians, however, are more than willing to put future generations of Americans at risk of national bankruptcy for sound-bites and reelection.

Wouldn't it be great if the Obama administration, in light of these asinine numbers, announced an end to deficit spending, saying, "OK, America, we have to develop a better approach to solving America's problems other than allowing politicians to shackle future generations to monumental debt"? I know this may sound radical, but perhaps Americans should consider voting out of office any politician, regardless of party, who believes that best way reduce the national debt is to slow the economy further by increased spending on untested programs, borrowing more money, and spending even more money than the nation has access to use.

As such, proposing a $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 trillion) healthcare reform initiative makes absolutely no sense---even if it's smoked-screen as "increasing competition." There are also crazy talks of another stimulus package as if we have the billions in cash to throw at problems. In the days to come what will be most pathetic is having to listen to gut-wrenching political spin from proponents of big government who will argue (1) that this is George Bush's fault, and (2) that we need to spend more borrowed money in order to escape recession and reduce the deficit. "Serenity now! Serenity now!"