Must be a heckuva APR.

Mo' money, mo' money, mo'money......

Congress needs to lift the ceiling on the government's borrowing limit soon because the Treasury is already using extraordinary means to meet its obligations, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Thursday.

As of now, the debt ceiling is 8.18 trillion dollars. Yes, that's right, $8,180,000,000,000.00.

You know, it was a big deal that the deficit had reached $1 trillion in the 80's. Compared to the GDP and the economic bull run at the time, it was a bit easier to swallow then than now. In the Reagan years, it represented 3% (sometimes less) of the national GDP. It is now approaching 5% and growing.

Think about it: that figure above represents about $32,000 for every person living in the U.S. right now.

Somehow, I don't think $40 million this year will really be enough to make a difference. Especially when it just represents a smaller increase and not an actual decrease in spending.

Maybe it's time to float that balanced-budget amendment proposal again.