John Stossel breaks it down so that "everyone" can understand the fiscal state of the United States (our tax bill).  As people understand differently, here are two presentations of the information.

John Stossel : Imagine this family budget:

Last year, you earned $24,700. But you spent $37,900, incurring $13,300 in debt, and you were already $153,500 in debt.

So you say, "I promise I'll spend $300 less this year!"

Anyone can see that your cutback is pathetic and that you need to spend much less.

Yet if you add eight zeroes, that's America's budget

Hypothetical family budget based on government budget for 2011.

Add eight zeros to that, and you get the federal governments budget. That's unsustainable.

U.S. Fiscal Crisis Looms