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Debt key to presidential debate?

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    Treasury Department: US debt climbed $1.27 trillion in FY 2012

  • Duration 5:19
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Welcome to America live everyone on Allison Pavarotti in for making Kelly who is headed to Colorado for Wednesday night's debate.

That of course is where domestic issues like our debt will be the main focus this comes as new data shows just how deep of a hole we're in the US treasury.

Announcing that Washington spent nearly one point two trillion dollars more than it took in last year.

-- -- debt increase of close to 111000.

Dollars per household in just twelve months overall.

Our nation is more than sixteen trillion dollars in the red.

That's a massive bubble that threatens our entire economy.

So how -- the candidates handle this tomorrow night.

Let's ask Chris are -- he's our.

Fox News digital politics editor -- host a power play on foxnews.com lot.

And Stuart Varney is the host of Barney company on the Fox Business -- gentlemen thanks so much for being here.

You Chris I wanna start review what can either candidates day to grab you know America by the lapel and make them understand it.

What each one of them wants to do to change our financial dire straits.

Well it's a heck of a lot easier for Mitt Romney on this one since he's the -- since he hasn't been in office and wasn't part of making.

That debt and President Obama has overseen in fact.

In unprecedented increase in size of the federal debt and as a -- fact -- talking to senior people from Romney land.

That's exactly what Mitt Romney means to do when he gets on that debate stage in Denver is go after the president.

Not just -- what -- says is in our ineffectual policies like the president's health care law and his stimulus packages.

But the cost of those policies as compared to Romney's own prescriptions the call for smaller less expensive government for the president what he's going to try to do is say look.

Maybe things aren't so great but it is partly the fault of George W.

Bush and the Republicans who were in office prior to the Democrats taking control in 2009.

So we need time to fix it and by the way.

The president will also say that he wants to increase taxes on people like Mitt Romney to help pay down some of that that.

Security -- we just -- that graphic there showing the sixteen trillion dollars of debt and there are so many digits it almost doesn't fit.

On the TV screen across the -- -- you concede that.

-- Americans in some way become numb to these astronomical numbers how serious is this.

That they have become -- it is the new normal this massive spilling of red ink but it raises three problems which I don't think the nation -- -- to grips with yet.

-- -- -- -- is now smaller than -- debt so we looked like Europe we know what happened that.

Number two with spending nine billion dollars every week just paying interest on this debt about a quarter -- -- it goes overseas.

A number three with paying for this debt by printing money.

So is a question Allison what happens when we stop printing as we inevitably will at some point.

What happens when people stop lending is the Monica's we borrowed so much what happens when the markets say you -- before this no loss no -- lending.

At that point the bubble busts and interest rates go straight up and the economy go straight down a little bit like Europe.

That is the nature of the problem -- we haven't gotten to grips with.

Chris in 2009 President Obama pledged to cut the budget deficit in half by the end of his first term obviously.

With the budget deficit still at one point two trillion that hasn't happened how does he get past that at the debate.

Well as he said is this as central central to his entire re election argument as things are much worse than we thought that they were.

The country was and -- much worse situation.

And Americans who lived through the panic of 2008.

Tend to agree with them a tentative easily -- call what it was like when they -- -- 41 K statements and right before that election.

In 2000 and said gee well occurs this is not working.

To the president does have that going in its favor the thing that makes him more vulnerable is this is where Romney can really get -- the president said that if he got the more than trillion dollars in stimulus packages that he wanted that he could get on unemployment.

Down under 8%.

And that's not what happened so what Romney will argue as.

That the president has failed and that the failures have been simply too expensive -- you know the new slogan.

-- -- -- And that is this.

We can't afford four more years and you're gonna hear that it very clear relief on Wednesday.

And -- is that enough to just say the president's policies have failed -- does -- need to lay out.

In its terms that Americans understand what he would do to bring this debt and deficit I think you've hit the nail on the head Alison he must spell out what he's going to do about this huge problem and in my opinion what he must do is spell out how he will grow America's economy.

We must grow but at least a 4% right if we can do that.

We raise the level of employment.

We raised more money in taxes we cut the deficit and if we have a long term plan to deal without spending and I stress long Tom.

That is an answer to our problems essentially.

Mr.

Romney has to tell the world.

How will he grow America's economy -- to the miserable way to growth that we -- for the last three nephews got it it's going to be interesting debate tomorrow night for star -- -- -- thanks so much to.

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