$14 Trillion and Climbing. Time to Hold the Line?
Yesterday, January 3, 2011, CBS News reported the U.S. Treasury website showed that as of last Friday, December 31, 2010, the National Debt exceeded $14.025 trillion. Specifically, CBS News reported:
“The U.S. Treasury website today reported that as of last Friday, the last day of 2010, the National Debt stood at $14,025,215,218,708.52.
“It took just 7 months for the National Debt to increase from $13 trillion on June 1, 2010 to $14 trillion on Dec. 31. It also means the debt is fast approaching the statutory ceiling $14.294 trillion set by Congress and signed into law by President Obama last February.”
In a linked story, CBS Evening News' Katie Couric explains why citizens should care about the national debt. The chart below, which appeared with the CBS News article, shows how the national debt has grown since it exceeded $9 trillion in late 2008.
