When out-of-control federal spending runs smack into sluggish tax revenues, red ink splashes all over Washington. In September, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the deficit this year would be $407 billion, a sum that reflected the $168 billion economic stimulus package approved by President Bush in February and the estimated $188billion spent for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through 2008. Add to that the $700 billion financial bailout package passed in October, plus another economic stimulus package likely to take shape in the coming months that could cost as much as $175 billion, and you're talking about an all-inclusive fiscal 2008 deficit exceeding $1 trillion.

You won't likely see such huge numbers leading the networks' evening newscasts because deficit talk is akin to Washington wonk speak.

A far bigger concern is the national debt — the total of what we've cumulatively borrowed to finance those yearly deficits. Sometime around 2020, according to projections offered by Walker's foundation, the U.S. debt will be equal to or greater than annual gross domestic product.

Does Anyone Care About a Trillion Dollar Deficit?