Just imagine if you had to pay $600 billion in interest. $600 billion! It’s an astonishing number. According to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, that is what the United States will be paying in 2012 on the national debt.

Some have disputed that, but the fact is that we’re (the USA) is in a world of hurt.

Some folks are probably wondering why the Admiral is talking about the interest on the national debt and the answer is simple: it’s a national security threat. That’s not to say, the Department of Defense’s budget hasn’t increased significantly over the last decade – two wars will do that.

Mullen told CNN:

“The most significant threat to our national security is our debt,” he told CNN Wednesday. “And the reason I say that is because the ability for our country to resource our military — and I have a pretty good feeling and understanding about what our national security requirements are — is going to be directly proportional — over time, not next year or the year after, but over time — to help our economy.

“That’s why it’s so important that the economy move in the right direction, because the strength and the support and the resources that our military uses are directly related to the health of our economy over time.”

The Federal Government is kind of like the person who is overweight, but goes ahead and eats the box of donuts even though they know it’s bad for them.

The United States Government is in need of an intervention.

The problem is not going away. To get it under control, every cent the government spends must be scrutinized. There should be no sacred cows.

Take a few minutes and look at the U.S. Debt Clock in which you can see that the largest budget items are Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, Federal Pensions, Defense/Wars, Federal Debt, and Earmarks.

Yes earmarks.

The total debt per U.S. Citizen (at the time of my view) was around $174,000. Ouch.

Happy Monday!