IF AOC says global warming will end the world in 12 years, I think this will beat her to it

A friend of mine who happens to live in California, during a recent election, when asked if she was concerned with budget deficits (both state and federal) her response was "Deficits, speficits. They take care of themselves."

Not only did she show a complete ignorance of economic principles, I'll bet she doesn't run her household budget that way. Total global debt now stands at nearly $250 trillion.

$250,000,000,000,000.  That's a lot of money. It will eventually bankrupt the world, and when it does, it will make the great depression of the 1930s look like prosperous times. 

The U.S. debt is $22 trillion, but this number does not include unfunded liabilities, such as future social security and medicare costs. These liabilities are estimated at over $200 trillion -- for the U.S. only. 

One of my favorite economists, Dan Mitchell, has spelled out six principles to help get us out of this situation. Here are his bullet points. Read the entire article here. Also, don't ignore either John Mauldin or Ray Dialo. 

Mitchell's six points:

• Principle #1 – America’s fiscal problem is a government that is too big and growing too fast.
• Principle #2 – Entitlement programs are the main drivers of excessive spending.
• Principle #3 – Deficits and debt are symptoms of the underlying problem.
• Principle #4 – Existing red ink is small compared to the federal government’s unfunded liabilities
• Principle #5 – A spending cap is the best way to solve America’s fiscal problems.
• Principle #6 – Increasing taxes will make a bad situation worse.

You can also view four other videos on Dan's views on fiscal policy