Our National Debt - Who's the April Fool?

Take a look at the National Debt Clock at http://www.usdebtclock.org/. It represents government spending and the interest on our nation's debt.

Did you happen to notice that as each second passes, "Our Official National Debt" amount increases by approximately fifty thousand dollars?

Did you know fifty thousand dollars is more than the average American worker earns in one year? So in just one second, our national debt rises by the annual salary of an American worker.

No big deal, right?

What if that American worker was you? Could you imagine spending your annual salary in a single second? Probably not. Unfortunately, the government not only imagines it, but eagerly spends it for you.

Did you know that during a one minute television commercial our national debt grows by three million dollars? But don't worry, because after you get a good night's sleep (about 8 hours), the debt will only jump another 1.44 billion dollars.

If you're not that concerned about the 1.44 billion buck boost, go ahead and take the weekend off. Besides, what difference can a mere 48 hours make, right? Would you be surprised to find out the national debt clock ticked off 8.64 billion greenbacks during those two days?

Anyway, in about 30 days the U.S. will celebrate April Fool's Day 2010 with another $131.4 billion dollars tacked on to the over $12.4 trillion dollar national debt. And who knows, by April Fool's Day 2011, our government could help heap an extra 1.6 trillion dollars onto the debt pile.

So, who's the fool, the American taxpayers, the government, or both?