Americans seem to have become numb to worry about our astronomical national debt, already at $17.5 trillion.

During the next 10 years, to $25.7 trillion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Think of the numbers this way: Every $1 trillion in debt amounts to about $3,125 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

By 2024, if the CBO is correct, the $25.7 trillion national debt will top $80,000 per person. That is well more than twice the total just five years ago – and much of the 2024 debt will be due to policies liberals in Congress have approved.

Already, the debt has affected our economy adversely. As the CBO has warned, the problem will grow worse.

So will the percentage of what we earn that goes to Washington. During the 2009 fiscal year, federal revenue was 14.6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. This year it was 16.7 percent – and the number is expected to increase.

The trend is both sobering and frightening.