When Is Enough National Debt Enough? by Heritage.org Fact Sheet #48

As of December 2009 the national debt is $12,000.000.000.000, that's $12 TRILLION. $7.6 trillion is debt held by the public, and $4.4 trillion is borrowed primarily from Social Security.  Interest on the existing debt comes to $209 billion for 2009.

When Government borrows, private industry has fewer resources. Less investment in private industry means fewer jobs, lower wages, and stunted economic growth.

At present more than 50% of the total economy is financed. The historical average is 36%. Congress has raised the debt limit and will very likely have to increase it more than once. Given the control the Democrats have, it is not likely that this administration will stop the out of control borrowing and spending.

Heritage has advanced several possible alternatives, all of which have no change of being implemented unless voters finally wake up and decide that enough is enough, and that is not likely to happy any time soon. The result is likely to be US Dollars flooding the domestic and foreign markets, and we should expect further losses of wealth by way of inflated consumer prices and devalued homes.