Just a little update on the national debt. CURRENT national debt: $11,321,599,905,356.40 National debt at $545,668 per household Published: May 30, 2009 at 2:51 PM Order reprints Related Searches WASHINGTON, May 30 (UPI) -- Federal debt last year amounted to a record $545,668 per U.S. household -- a 12-percent spike in just one year, government sources said. The increase burdens each household with an additional $55,000 in national debt for just 2008, USA Today reported Saturday. The increase can be pinned on the explosion of federal borrowing during the recession and an aging population that is driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security. "We have a huge implicit mortgage on every household in America â except, unlike a real mortgage, it's not backed up by a house," said David Walker, former U.S. comptroller general, the government's chief auditor. The federal government assumed $6.8 trillion in new debt last year, pushing its total debt to a record $63.8 trillion, USA Today reported. The enormous burden has increased awareness of the government's financial challenges, U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tenn., said. "More and more, people are worried about our fiscal future," Cooper said.
$545,668 is amazing when you consider the fact that federal debt doesn't include pension liabilities (look up CALPERS and how much they are underfunded) and other miscellaneous liabilities and the total debt per household may be closer to $1 million.
We're obviously incapable of understanding that a massive government funded by debt is a bad thing, but we sure are teaching our kids and grandkids a lesson they'll never forget.
I get $107,300 per household. Based on 105,500,000 "households" from Census Bureau. How did you arrive at $500K per? Either way, it's damn high!
The number does not add up. We know that the population of America is 300 million. Therefore, the national debt per person is slightly less than $40K. What is the typical size of an American household? Four persons per household is my guess. Therefore, the national debt per household is around $150K, not $500K. Am I wrong here?