Time for each of us to cough up $24,000 to erase U.S. debt
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/167339_gao04.html
DAVID M. WALKER -- U.S. COMPTROLLER GENERALConsiderable attention, and rightly so, has focused recently on the war against terrorism. But it would be wrong to conclude that this is the only clear and present danger confronting this nation. The United States faces a large and growing fiscal imbalance that also threatens our economy and way of life.
The United States now has a gross federal debt of around $7 trillion, which works out to about $24,000 for every man, woman and child in this country.
But this number excludes several big-ticket items, including accrued civilian and military retirement benefits, veterans' disability and medical care, environmental clean-up costs and contingencies associated with government agencies and government-sponsored entities.
Most important, it ignores the huge unfunded promises associated with Social Security and Medicare over the next 75 years. If these items are factored in, the burden for every American rises to well over $100,000.