This past fall, the gross national debt quietly passed the $9 trillion mark – over $60,000 for each and every taxpaying American.

Many of us remember that number Ross Perot drilled into America's memories in 1992: $4 trillion.  Back then it was considered a shocking, irresponsible level of debt.   It has now more than doubled, and both Republicans and Democrats are to blame.

In May Jim Burkee met in Washington with David Walker, the Comptroller General of the United States – the nation's top accountant.  Walker warned, as he did in a recent 60 Minutes interview, that the United States faces a crisis that dwarfs, in his opinion, even the War on Terror in national importance.   Corrupt Senators and Congressmen have spent our money to buy our votes in the past, but nothing can compare to the tens of trillions of dollars in future benefits Congress has promised us, knowing full well that those promises will go unfulfilled.

This year we will also pay about $429 billion just on interest on the debt, adding $3,900 to each taxpayer's bill.

In total, Congress has burdened our children and grandchildren with over $50 trillion in unfunded liabilities.  Our children face a future of rising taxes, a smaller military and a stagnant economy, in large part because representatives in Congress have been too busy protecting their own jobs to look out for the well being of our kids.   Unless we take action now, our children will have – in addition to their large student loans and rising health care costs -- $400,000 in extra taxes to pay because of our leadership's irresponsibility.

With the economy facing rising health care costs, a subprime mortgage crisis and recessionary pressures, we need leaders in Washington willing to talk honestly with Americans and make the difficult choices.  Jim is the only candidate to make the difficult decisions we need to save our children's future from massive entitlement debt, and Jim is the only candidate who has pledged to never vote for one dime of deficit-spending in times of economic growth.