I agree with Pete that we are on the edge of a political discussion here that is against forum rules. Also agree that while a pile of notes is a startling visual, it does not take into account the reality of the entire situation.
Shocking? Yes. Thought provoking? Not really, imagine how much taller the stack would have been if it was just $1s, or even pennies! Thoughtful and useful for the current political problem? No.
As only the government liabilities are mentioned, ("the Medicare, Medicare Prescription Drug Program,
Social Security, Military and civil servant pensions.") but no mention is made of government subsidies to corporations or revenues lost due to loopholes, etc. it strikes me as merely a biased scare tactic and not any reasoned fully informed piece of useful information. Pete's graph is much more useful.
Can we stop now?
-Will