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.
*Click here for the updated amount.

From The Washington Post:
$2 Trillion Debt Increase May Test Federal Ability to Borrow
"There's a time bomb in there somewhere, but we don't know exactly where on the calendar it's planted," says Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP, quoted in this Washington Post article. The Muser has made this point for years, but it's seldom discussed in the media.

Greater Debt in 3 Weeks Than All of 2008
More Than Any Year in History
October 23, 2008

$700 Billion?
Maybe it's only 200 billion; maybe it's a trillion.
What does it mean?
September 25, 2008

$10 Trillion, and No Headlines
National Debt Passes a Milestone
October 4, 2008

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). about the National Debt

The major debt numbers at a glance.

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

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.

How big is a trillion, Daddy?

Trillions, Billions & Millions
An attempt to understand really big numbers

Archived national debt articles
Timely when written, many in response to specific news items, these articles still contain important principles and ideas.

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