The nation crossed the $38 trillion threshold last week, which means every household in America owes about $300,000 to Uncle Sam.
Politicians love to point the finger of blame across the aisle, but all parties on the Hill are responsible for the debt situation.
Ross Marchand, senior fellow at the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, says the solution begins with Congress taking a hard look at entitlement spending and defense.
"Social Security, especially in the past year, consumed about $1.5 trillion in taxpayer resources," he reports. "Right off the bat, any serious plan to get spending under control needs to take Social Security into account."
"Medicare is a key contributor to debts and deficits, and Medicaid … will soon surpass that trillion-dollar mark," Marchand also mentions.
Additionally, the Department of Defense, now referred to as the War Department, is "right on the cusp of a trillion dollars" in annual expenditures. He says it has too many bases and spends too much money on pricey weapons programs like the F-35 fighter jet program, which has a lifetime cost of more than $2 trillion.
"It's really important for Defense to look at ways to consolidate its footprint and spend less money," Marchand submits.
He recognizes these are touchy subjects, especially during election season, but legislators need to have difficult conversations, and fast.
"If you want to create a serious plan to get debts and deficits under control, you need to have a plan that targets each of these programs and priorities," Marchand asserts.
He warns that doing nothing will only make things worse; the nation will be much poorer and more indebted, interest rates and inflation will be higher, and soaring interest payments will come at the expense of Social Security checks and Medicare and Medicaid healthcare.
