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Posted: 5/20/2013 1:09:44 AM EST
The National Debt Clock, which displays the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share, hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 5/20/2013 1:09:44 AM EST
The National Debt Clock, which displays the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share, hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 5/20/2013 1:09:44 AM EST
The National Debt Clock, which displays the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share, hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 5/17/2013 5:05:13 PM EST
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-style sign, is seen near Times Square in New York October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Posted: 5/17/2013 2:36:46 PM EST
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-style sign, is seen near Times Square in New York October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Posted: 5/17/2013 2:36:46 PM EST
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-style sign, is seen near Times Square in New York October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Posted: 5/17/2013 2:31:18 PM EST
The National Debt Clock, a billboard-style sign, is seen near Times Square in New York October 9, 2008. REUTERS/Mike Segar
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Posted: 5/13/2013 11:22:05 AM EST
The National Debt Clock hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 5/13/2013 3:18:21 AM EST
The National Debt Clock hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 5/13/2013 3:18:21 AM EST
The National Debt Clock hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 4/23/2013 7:38:17 AM EST
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Secretary General Angel Gurria speaks during a news conference at Japan National Press Club in Tokyo Tuesday, April 23, 2013. Japan’s efforts to end two decades of stagnation are welcome changes that could spark a recovery, but rising national debt threatens its long-term growth and financial stability, the OECD said in a report Tuesday. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE
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Posted: 4/9/2013 6:22:08 PM EST
The National Debt Clock, which displays the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share, hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 12/20/2012 11:02:27 AM EST
The National Debt Clock, which displays the current United States gross national debt and each American family's share, hangs on a wall next to an office for the Internal Revenue Service near Times Square in New York May 16, 2011. REUTERS/Chip East
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Posted: 12/12/2012 5:18:27 PM EST
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., center, accompanied by Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-N.C., right, and others, gestures as she speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, to talk about the effect of the national debt on American families. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
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Posted: 10/31/2012 4:38:50 PM EST
FILE - In this Sept. 13, 2011 file photo shows the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, led by co-chairs Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington to hear testimony about the national debt from the Congressional budget director. Just about everybody agrees Washington is a mess. But who can fix it? After two years of strife and stalemate between Obama and congressional Republicans, more voters trust Romney than Obama to break through the gridlock, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows. Romney's message _ a vote for Obama is a vote for more impasse _ seems to be getting through. Supercommittee members from left are Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., Hensarling, Murray, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Ariz., Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file)
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Posted: 10/23/2012 2:43:32 PM EST
FILE - This Aug. 8, 2011 file photo shows a statue of former Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin outside the Treasury Building in Washington. A sea of red ink is confronting the nation and presidents to come. The budget deficit _ the shortfall created when the government spends more in a given year than it collects in taxes and fees_ is on track to top $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. When there's not enough to pay current bills, the government borrows, mostly by selling interest-bearing Treasury bonds, bills and notes to investors and governments worldwide. It now borrows about 40 cents for every dollar it spends. The national debt refers to the total amount the federal government owes; the deficit is just a one-year slice. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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Posted: 10/19/2012 11:18:26 AM EST
Republican Vice President candidate Paul Ryan waves to one of the 1500 supporters who attended his visit on the Ocala downtown square Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012, in Ocala, Fla. Ryan spoke about creating jobs, growing the economy and getting rid of the national debt in the United States. (AP Photo/Ocala Star-Banner, Doug Engle)
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Posted: 9/24/2012 3:58:31 AM EST
George Washington presents himself at head of army at Cambridge, Mass., on July 3, 1775. From Dorchester Heights, he laid siege to British in Boston. Latter evacuated city following March, taking garrison of 8,000 to New York. The U.S. has been borrowing since the 1700s, when it needed money to finance the American Revolution. The outstanding debt has since risen to a shade over $16 trillion. While there's plenty of finger-pointing by politicians over who's to blame, deficits historically surge during wars and deep recessions, and the U.S. has had both over the past decade. The budget deficit _ the shortfall created when the government spends more in a given year than it collects in taxes and fees_ is on track to top $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. When there's not enough to pay current bills, the government borrows, mostly by selling interest-bearing Treasury bonds, bills and notes to investors and governments worldwide. It now borrows about 40 cents for every dollar it spends. The national debt refers to the total amount the federal government owes; the deficit is just a one-year slice. (AP Photo)
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Posted: 9/24/2012 3:58:28 AM EST
FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 8, 2011, file photo, a statue of former Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin is seen outside the Treasury Building in Washington. A sea of red ink is confronting the nation and presidents to come. The budget deficit _ the shortfall created when the government spends more in a given year than it collects in taxes and fees_ is on track to top $1 trillion for the fourth straight year. When there's not enough to pay current bills, the government borrows, mostly by selling interest-bearing Treasury bonds, bills and notes to investors and governments worldwide. It now borrows about 40 cents for every dollar it spends. The national debt refers to the total amount the federal government owes; the deficit is just a one-year slice. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
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Posted: 9/18/2012 3:48:38 PM EST
Republican vice presidential candidate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., talks about the national debt during a campaign stop, Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012 in Dover, N.H. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)
