Photo: US narrowly avoids default.. $14.3 trillion debt.. 7-year-old girl holds sign in Washington DC - "Why Do I Owe $46,000?"

*Update* March 19, 2012 - http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ - "The Outstanding Public Debt as of 19 Mar 2012 is: $15,580,446,972,442
The estimated population of US is 312,429,020
Each citizen's share of this debt is $49,868.76.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $4.02 billion per day since September 28, 2007!"

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[Aug. 2, 2011] Holly Matthews, 7, of Kansas City, Mo., holds a sign supporting a balanced budget amendment just before the House voted Monday to pass debt legislation on Capitol Hill in Washington.

08/17/2011 abcnews.com 14.7M Children in Poverty One child out of every five in the U.S. suffers from hunger - stunning key findings

11/23/2011 CNN Report: 1 in 5 U.S. children at risk of hungerThe number of families that struggle to get enough food has increased in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that in 2010, 14.5% of households in US -- about 17.2 million -- lacked the resources to provide enough food for everybody.

House of Representatives approves debt deal
WASHINGTON — Wisconsin lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle put aside their misgivings Monday to help pass emergency legislation to avert a federal government default. The House of Representatives voted 269-161 for the Budget Control Act, the legislative byproduct of a deal between Democratic and Republican leaders. The bipartisan approval came from 174 Republicans and 95 Democrats, while 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against it.

Lawmakers had until today to approve an increase in the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. Without the increase, the government would begin to run out of money to pay all its bills. The legislation calls for cutting government spending by at least $2.1 trillion over 10 years in two stages. It allows Obama's administration to borrow $400 billion immediately and would give the government authority later to borrow an additional $2 trillion to carry it through 2012.

Debt crisis: House clears hurdle, Senate vote on tap
WASHINGTON - A fractious House passed a compromise Monday, saving the government from an embarrassing debt default. The Senate is expected to clear the plan Tuesday and send it to President Obama with only hours to spare before the country would default on its bills for the first time in its history.

After high-level negotiations produced the deal late Sunday, House leaders spent Monday in caucus meetings, twisting arms left and right to keep the agreement from collapsing with the finish line in sight. Many members of the GOP's Tea Party caucus rejected the deal simply because it raises the debt ceiling. Democratic liberals, including several New York members, slammed the White House's biggest concession: no tax hikes for the wealthy.

"Why do we not have anything in this bill that makes millionaires and billionaires who can afford to pay a little bit more, pay a little bit more?" asked Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx, Westchester, Rockland).

Brokered by Vice President Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the deal raises the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling by at least $2.2 trillion through 2013, after next year's general election.

Debt deal passes House... but is it enough to save America from double-dip recession?
...with experts slamming the agreement as a cruel means of hitting middle classes with tax hikes 'through the back door'.

The President and congressional leaders last night finally announced an agreement on emergency legislation to avert the nation's first-ever financial default. But while the dramatic resolution briefly lifted a cloud that had threatened the still-fragile economic recovery, critics said in the long run the middle classes would bear the brunt of the country's massive debt, with increased taxes set to cover for the White House's reluctance to cut public spending.

The agreement is set to slice at least $2.4 trillion from federal spending over a decade, a price which is seen as too steep for many Democrats and too little for many Republicans. It comes amid fears that America could still drop into a double-dip recession.

Financial expert Douglas McIntyre of 247wallst.com said the U.S. has already entered a second recession, following poor GDP growth and consumer spending figures last week, reported MSNBC.

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Choice for mankind sharing one planet - where to spend big? To make our only Earth greener, or grayer?

Market economy: correct itself or rescued by bailout? How many trillions are enough? Who shouldn’t be bailed out?

[08 November 2008] US national debt: $10+ tril, increasing $3.99 bil daily. US population: 305 mil; each citizen’s share: $35k

Photos courtesy AP and John Moore / Getty Images