If we never pay off a nickel of the National Debt, we still have to pay the interest on it, every day of every year. Working people pay it, one way or another. This month, your share of that interest, assuming you're a typical employed person in the U.S., is about $250. And you are paying it—you have no choice. 

Frequently Asked Questions about the National Debt (FAQ).

The major debt numbers at a glance.

$59,000 for Graduation??  Cool !!
Oh Wait—That's Not a Gift.
May, 2006

We Don't Make This Stuff Up
Record Borrowing in the 2nd Quarter—Direct Quotes from the Treasury Department
February, 2006

A $400 Billion Deficit and Permanent Tax Cuts
Are We Crazy?
January, 2006

Federal Borrowing to Hit Decade High
Talk to Me in a Couple of Months
January, 2006

Debt Tops $8 Trillion
Even McDonald's stopped counting burgers at 100 billion.
October, 2005

We Don't Have a Social Security Crisis…
…We Have a Debt Crisis
2005 article

Headline Spin--A smaller deficit isn't good; it's only less terrible
July, 2005

The Slide Has Begun
Headline says: "Dollar Falls" — It Means: Interest Rises
February, 2005

Greenspan speaks out—again
"...deficit...a significant obstacle to long-term stability"
March, 2005

These tax cuts may wipe you out! 
Written in 2001

What is the national debt—and what is the deficit?
…just so we know what the problem is 

Is it real money?
We owe it to ourselves, so it doesn't matter, right? Wrong!

Is there any interest?
How do interest rates affect the debt?

You owe your neighbors more than you thought.
Got the courage to find out how much? Click here.

Was there ever a surplus?
Not if we use a realistic definition of the word.
January, 2004

How big is a trillion, Daddy?

Or get the news straight from the horse's mouth at the Treasury Department's debt clock site: The Public Debt to the Penny

Other private and government links relevant to the Debt and Deficit