A new website, called “The U.S. Debt Clock” shows the different contributing factors to the rising federal deficit.

So what are we facing?  Using international approaches to calculating national debt, the U.S. federal debt-to-GDP ratio is 93 percent (the official figure as calculated by the Congressional Budget Office as 62 percent).  It is estimated to reach 100 percent in 2012.  The last time the U.S. debt-to-GDP ratio was this high was in 1944 during WWII.  By comparison, the United Kingdom – which has committed to slash its budget by 25 percent over the next five years --is at 68 percent.

The current annual deficit of $1.4 trillion, as the AARP, notes, comprises one-third of total federal spending.  This is equivalent to borrowing to pay for the entire Defense budget and total spending on Social Security each year.

There is a growing consensus that something needs to be done, and that all segments of society will have a role.  Following are the three most reliable sources of information on the long-term debt and the annual deficit.  Read them, but not before bedtime.  Some think this kind of reading will put you to sleep, but I think it’ll keep you awake. 

Resources.  There are lots of places trying to market the facts and figures, and some solutions, but they don’t seem to be getting traction among the general public:

• Government Accountability Office, The Federal Government’s Long Term Fiscal Outlook (January 2010 Update)
• Congressional Budget Office, The Budget and Economic Outlook:  An Update (August 2010)
• Office of Management and Budget, Mid-Session Review: Budget of the U.S. Government, FY 2011 (July 2010)
• Ross Perot’s “Perot Charts” (a bit outdated but even scarier knowing things only got worse after he stopped updating them) 
• National Research Council’s “Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future”
• Concord Coalition’s “Fiscal Stewardship Project”
• Peterson Foundation’s “State of the Union’s Finances: A Citizen’s Guide”

Let me know what you think.

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