The U.S. budget explained as a Household budget:

U.S. Tax Revenue $ 2,170,000,000,000 Federal Budget $ 3,820,000,000,000 New Debt $ 1,650,000,000,000 Existing National Debt $ 14,271,000,000,000 Interest Payments on Debt for 2011 $454,393,280,417 Recent Budget Cut $ 38,500,000,000 Now, remove 8 zeros and pretend it's a house hold budget: Annual Family Income $ 21,700 Money the family spent $ 38,200 New debt on credit card $ 16,500 Outstanding balance on credit card $ 142,710 Minimum Payment $4,543 Total budget cuts which some politicians are proud of $ 385