Not only has the federal government been overspending, throwing the entire society into a deficit economy, but individuals and families have grossly overspent — and grossly overcharged their purchases onto high-interest credit cards. Americans owe $1.7 trillion dollars in personal debt, and one-third of that is credit card debt. If you stacked a pile of $100 bills, a million would reach just over six feet. A billion would be a mile high, and a trillion would skyrocket 350 miles into the stratosphere.