From the Opinion by Sen. Joe Manchin:
How serious a crisis could we face if we continue to ignore our nation’s debt? Consider the words of the then-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Mike Mullen, who was asked in February 2011 about the greatest threat facing our nation when he appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Without skipping a beat, Mullen said it was our national debt. Those words are truer now than they were then.
Here are the facts: Our national debt was $14.1 trillion in February 2011. In the decade since, we have added nearly another $20 trillion to that total with bipartisan enthusiasm. That’s over $94,000 for every American.