Well before we were plunged into the throes of a recession, the United States was in perilous financial condition. No wonder the dollar has fallen to just over half the value of the euro and less than half the value of a British pound. No wonder our balance of payments in foreign trade has fallen to dismal levels.

During 38 of the last 40 years we have continued to run up our national debt at an alarming clip, a movement that reached colossal proportions under President Bush. In his seven-plus years he has steered the nation into a deep abyss, plunging the nation nearly 70 percent further into the present gigantic $9 trillion debt, jeopardizing the future of every young American by his flagrant fiscal failure.

In a period of considerable prosperity (especially for investors), the Bush administration, with the acquiescence of Congress, allowed our federal government to plummet further into debt at the rate of $529 billion annually (which far exceeds the specious amounts officially cited by his administration).

To pay only the interest on that debt this year (at least $406 billion) would require an estimated 130 million filers to pay $3,123 each or $6,246 per couple, in addition to the taxes paid in 2007.

But paying only the interest on a debt in an ordinary debtor-creditor relationship is unacceptable. In the future our federal government should balance its budget each year to end the four-decade long slide into deeper debt.

To avoid enlarging that debt this year, the nation should go beyond simply paying the interest on our federal debt. It should at least make up the additional $529 billion average annual addition to our national debt under Bush. That would require further taxes of $4,143 per filer or $8,286 per couple.

The nation should also begin to retire the federal debt by at least a modest 3 percent each year. Such an undertaking would require an additional $270 billion annually, increasing payments by $2,077 per individual filer or $4,154 per couple.

The two payments to make up Bush's average deficit and the recommended minimal debt retirement would total $6,220 per individual or $12,440 per couple in addition to the taxes already paid for 2007. (These annual extra payments would gradually diminish as the principal was reduced.)

Such payments, however, are just minimal responsible steps because the true dimensions of our national debt are much larger than most Americans realize. And obligations for Social Security and Medicare will exceed the present surpluses in a few years.

President Bush and Congress are not the only ones to blame. Newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal should be faulted for not condemning our federal irresponsibility. Blame also should fall on the economists who failed to alarm the public.

Finally, all of us who like to believe we are responsible citizens must share in the blame. We have all failed badly.

Burrows lives in Whitewater.