A little perspective I just stole from theospark.net:
This below states the USA financial position succinctly:
U.S. Tax revenue: $2,170,000,000,000
. Fed budget: $3,820,000,000,000
. New debt: $ 1,650,000,000,000
. National debt: $14,271,000,000,000
. Recent budget cut: $38,500,000,000
Now just remove 8 zeros and pretend it is a household
budget:
. Annual family income: $21,700
. Money the family spent: $38,200
. New debt on the credit card: $16,500
. Outstanding balance on the credit card: $142,710
. Total budget cuts: $385