Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Reality begins to dawn when one takes the time to make a few simple inquiries involving the true liabilities in the burgeoning national debt.

While the current reported national debt is in excess of $17 trillion, how many are aware of the debt in other facets of government?

The debt of countless state and federal governments’ public employee pension liabilities are estimated to be over $3 trillion. Meanwhile, the Social Security program is underfunded by $18.8 trillion. Not to be outdone, Medicare has also made a significant contribution to that debt overall. Medicare Part B is about $22.4 trillion in debt, while the Part D burden is about $16 trillion. Since these numbers were compiled in 2012, there are no current actual numbers that calculate the combined debt of Medicare and the impact of Obamacare on that debt.

I hesitate to mention the $5.4 trillion of debt created when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken into conservatorship.

There is curren...