Years and years ago - actually only 40 months and a day - when the national debt was a mere $10.5 trillion (as of today's date, it is
$15.5 trillion), the former Comptroller General of the United States gave us this memorable quote:
"What's clear is that, while the numbers aren't final yet for the year ended Sept. 30, 2008, for the first time in the history of the United States, the federal financial hole exceeded the total net worth of all Americans. ... So we could confiscate every dime of the net worth of every American household -- including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and every other billionaire -- and we wouldn't fill the hole." (See the entire interview here.)
