Commentary: Call this a crisis? Just wait

CNN.com, October 31, 2008

At the dawn of the 21st century the U.S. had $5.7 trillion in total debt. As we approach the end of George W. Bush's presidency only eight years later, that sum has nearly doubled. If you think things are bad now, that's nothing compared with the fiscal disaster that is bearing down on America, says David M. Walker, former U.S. Comptroller General. It's no longer an event in the misty future, he says, and it officially began earlier this year when teacher Kathleen Casey-Kirschling of Maryland became the first baby-boom retiree to collect Social Security benefits. She will be followed by about 78 million more boomers over the next 17 years.