You have heard politicians talk about “reducing the deficit,” but have they ever talked about how to pay off the debt? I don’t think so—because the debt cannot and will not be paid. But as the graph shows, we are approaching the end game of the deficit. By mid-century the deficit will reach 9.1% of GDP, based on the latest long-term projections by the Congressional Budget Office. We are already borrowing money to pay the interest, and are thus paying interest on interest (compound interest).