Jason loved to draw pictures.

As a child he would sketch with a great deal of skill. The detail and composition of his pictures showed a remarkable gift.

When he went on to college, he did not have a clue as to what his major area of study should be.

In his second year of college Jason needed to choose a major. When he heard a friend talking about graphic design, it clicked. That’s what Jason really liked to do.

After graduation, with a baccalaureate degree in studio art, Jason worked for a couple of years, then decided he wanted to get a master’s degree.

Jason’s undergrad and graduate student loans then totaled $120,000. He had landed a job that paid well so it was time to get on which his life goals.

Jason married his high school sweetheart and in the course of two more years they had two darling children. Then things began to fall apart.

The high school sweetheart sued for divorce. Attorney’s fees during the custody battle finally mounted to $ 15,000. The court awarded Jason’s ex-wife full custody of the two children and $1,800 in monthly child support.

Additionally, the court awarded her $1,000 per month in separate maintenance (alimony). Payments on the house they purchased came to $2,800 each month.

They had purchased a small cabin cruiser on credit and the boat payments with dock and winter dry dock fees were considerable.

Their credit cards now showed a total indebtedness of $ 63,000.

Then Jason lost his employment and the income it had provided.

What could he do except seek out an attorney and go through bankruptcy? But there were some of those debts that bankruptcy could not cancel.

Jason became moody and at times thought about suicide.

His credit rating had suffered collapse and none of the lenders would extend him any more credit. Jason’s picture is, up to a point, like that of our federal government.

Whether it is a family or a city or a state or a sovereign government, it is possible to go so deeply into debt that there is no possible honorable remedy.

Resulting bankruptcy and default are disastrous. Creditors lose their invested capital funds. The indebted creditor loses reputation; the ability to transact business and supply services. Great suffering to many is the usual sure result.

As the United States has suffered a marked decline in economic activity and huge increases in unemployment, what has been the response? The federal government has borrowed and spent and given away astronomical amounts of money.

During one week of February 2010 the U.S. government increased its debt by more than $300,000 each second.

We no longer speak of national debt in terms of billions, but rather in terms of trillions.

But is our government too big to fail? It seems that the laws of economics apply to both large enterprises and to those which are smaller.

Even compared to Greece, the United States deficit is only slightly less bad – 10.6 percent of gross domestic product in the U.S. vs. 12.2 percent in Greece.

Greece, Spain and Portugal supposedly have the IMF to fall back on when they are too deeply in debt.

But the size of the U. S. economy leaves us with no one to fall back on.

And already some of the major lenders who have been lending money to the U.S. are now pulling in their funds.

Our national credit rating is suffering.