$16 Trillion

Sixteen trillion dollars:

That’s about how much money the United States of America is in debt to creditors today – a sum which won’t be paid off anytime soon, if ever.  

And that debt is growing by leaps and bounds. Millions of dollars are added to the total every few minutes. Interest alone just to service this mountain of debt is now accumulating at the rate of about $200 billion every year.

It’s going to get worse.

Sooner or later the bubble is going to pop, and when it does there’s literally going to be hell to pay. The time is fast approaching when the United States government will have no choice but to default on its loans. Uncle Sam will become a deadbeat.

If that happens, the value of the U.S. dollar will plummet. If the government decides to print more cash to pay off the loans, the value of your money and mine will likewise plummet. It’s a no-win situation for every American rich and poor.

Former president George W. Bush started the trouble with wild military spending and on the unnecessary wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Barack Obama is compounding the problem by doing absolutely nothing to stop the profligate spending.

Romney and Ryan really don’t have a clue about how to stop the pending avalanche but at least they recognize there is a problem.

Perhaps the first people to be screwed will be the post-World War II generation of baby boomers, myself included, who are just now beginning to retire on the government’s promise to pay social security and Medicare benefits. Their savings have already been decimated by the housing implosion brought on by George W. Bush so they will need their retirement benefits more than ever.

One thing is for certain. The last people to suffer will be those on the government payroll. They’ll continue to get theirs with honey on top.

We know that the GSA scandal was just the tip of the iceberg. Now we learn that a small group of federal judges in the western U.S. circuit are planning to spend more than $1 million taxpayer dollars on a Maui Hawaii conference (vacation).

They’ll stay at the upscale Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa in rooms costing 230 to $250 per night for four nights. Accommodations alone are expected to total more than $500,000, plus each participant will enjoy per diem expenses starting at a base level of $289. Add to that the travel costs and the total is outrageous for four days of conference activities which could just as well be accomplished over the Internet at a fraction of the costs.

These judges have been spending this kind of taxpayer cash every year now for several years and they’re not about to give up their lavish perks without a fight.

Meanwhile, nearly $100,000 worth of "coffee break refreshments" was among the itemized expenses revealed Friday from two controversial Veterans Affairs conventions, whose combined price tag topped $5 million, including $52,000 wasted on "Patton-style" video that surfaced earlier this week.

“As we learn more about these conferences, I am more and more concerned about the clear lack of leadership, accountability, and transparency at VA," U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, said in a written statement.

"To see that VA employees were treated to tens of thousands of dollars in refreshments, a $300,000 Audio Visual Center and a night of Karaoke ($863) does not invoke confidence in employees who are entrusted with the nation’s monies for veterans."

The price tag on the VA conferences far exceeds the roughly $830,000 spent by the General Services Administration at a 2010 Las Vegas conference, a lavish affair that drew outrage on Capitol Hill.

With out of control spending like this, it’s no wonder America is underwater in debt to the tune of $16 trillion and there is no end sight.