When I was fresh out of high school I worked for a time at construction site in a steel mill. It was hard work, but a great way to make some money for college.

My job was called a carpenter’s helper. I was teamed with two journeymen carpenters and got to do the “lift and tote” and “gofor” stuff as well as some actual rough carpentry. The pair I was teamed with were old guys, probably mid-thirties to about forty. When I was seventeen, anyone over thirty was old.

It turned out they were both carpenter philosophers and with me still being just a pup, they enjoyed giving me the benefit of their wisdom. Almost every day I heard some sage homily about life. Most often they talked about women and sex or about what they would do if they were, like me, young and single.

Most of their advice I don’t repeat in polite company, but there is one thing I remember that seems particularly ironic to me today.

Paul, the older of the pair, told me several times that one of his main goals in life was to die thirty thousand dollars in debt. Today that amount doesn’t sound like much, about the cost of a mid-range car, but back then a well paid Detroit auto worker was making about five thousand a year. So Paul was actually talking about being five or six years income in the hole.

He’d laugh and say if he could leave that much debt he’d really be getting away with something.

Of course, in his dream, Paul was getting the direct benefit of all that borrowed money. In his mind’s eye he’d be spending his last years driving a shiny new “please ticket me red” convertible and spending long vacations on a tropical island. When he died, he’d get the last laugh because the debt obligation would die with him. It wouldn’t be passed to his wife or kids. The fat cat bankers would get stuck holding an empty bag.

Now, fast forward to the present. Our national debt has been growing for years under both Republican and Democrat administrations. Bringing home the pork has been part of American politics from the start and we the people are guilty of continuing to re-elect the worst offenders. After all if government money is coming into our home area, just like Paul, we think we’re getting something for nothing.

The problem is our current president and liberal controlled congress have been on a spending orgy for the last year and a half. The debt is growing at a pace that rivals World War II, a time of total war when without that spending there really wouldn’t have been a tomorrow.

How many times in recent months have you heard the word trillion used when the cost of a new program was reported?

Back when I was working with Paul, a million dollars seemed like all the money in the world. It doesn’t seem that long ago when the term billion started being used to describe government spending. Now “keep it under a trillion” is supposed to be proof of fiscal responsibility.

I remember thinking that Paul was greedy, hoping to spend the equivalent of five to six years pay of someone else’s money. Now I realize that when it comes to greed, Paul was a piker.

If you have a strong stomach take a look at some statistics. The average family income is currently about $62,000 a year. Each family’s portion of the total national debt is approaching $700,000, or just about eleven years income and growing.

Right now, congress is preparing to spend another two hundred billion on another “jobs” bill. Behind that, waiting in the wings, are more bills whose costs will be estimated at just “under a trillion.”

Tell me, how much fun are you having with all this spending?

And, unlike in Paul’s dream, your portion of the debt doesn’t go away when you die. It gets passed on as an obligation for your children and grandchildren and their children. How’s that for living the dream?

Before the election this November, check again and see how much your share has grown.

Then be sure to thank the president and his big spending friends with your vote.