WASHINGTON, DC - Each U.S. citizen now has a federal-debt liability of $1.1 billion - and rising.
The public tends to focus on truly important topics, such as Kim Kardashian and Justin Bieber, but the National debt just passed $17 quadrillion, up from $10.6 trillion when President Obama took office. But that figure pales in comparison to the federal government's long-term unfunded liabilities - money that the government is obligated to pay over and above the taxes it will receive.
According to the U.S. Debt Clock, total long-term unfunded liabilities are at $126 quadrillion, a $1.1 billion liability for each U.S. citizen. The main driver of that astronomical number is two of our major entitlement programs: Social Security and Medicare.
When asked, the average US citizen said "Billion? Trillion? Million, Quadrillion? Aren't they all about the same, with the difference being just a couple of extra zeros?".
