Summer: the time to ponder life's big questions. How will I pay for the kids' university education What type of stain should I use on the deck chairs What is the size and composition of the national debt

Okay, perhaps the national debt isn't dominating barbeque chatter, but it is an important federal issue. As of March 31st, gross public debt (market debt and non-market debt) exceeded $632.8 billion. Subtract $85.4 billion of government financial assets and net public debt was (and is) $547.4 billion.

The good news, confirmed last month by Tim Horton's drive-thru guy and Minister of Everything, John Manley, is that this figure will drop to $541.4 billion when the 2001-2002 surplus is applied to debt reduction later this summer.

This will bring total debt repayment by the federal Liberals after a decade in power to $42 billion. But if we take a more long-term view of the situation, this means that the actual net debt burden will only be slightly lower than its 1994/1995 value of $545.7 billion. This year was chosen as it represents the grits first full year in power. In other words, this doesn't include the mammoth $42 billion deficit left to them from by the Mulroney-Campbell regime.

While the $42 billion deficit posted by the Tories during their dying days in power was the largest in nominal dollars ever by a Canadian government, it wasn't the largest in real terms. The most crushing deficit ($38.4 billion) compared to the size of the economy (read: GDP) during the last 60 years was posted by the Trudeau-Turner administration in fiscal 1984-1985.

How did we end up in this awful mess Let's start with the basics. When a government spends more than it collects in revenues (taxes, fees, etc.) it runs a deficit. Consecutive deficits become debt, with most of our debt racked up in the last 30 years. Before 1997/1998, the fed's last surplus - $139 million - occurred in 1969-1970.

Then Trudeau's just society - which dramatically expanded the welfare state - along with major infrastructure spending kick started a disastrous string of 27 consecutive federal budget deficits. During this period our net federal debt ballooned from $20.2 billion in 1970-1971 to $583.2 billion in 1996-1997. Annual public debt charges, think of these as the interest payments on the federal credit card, climbed from $1.9 billion to $45 billion over the same period.

As a percent of the economy, our debt burden climbed from 23% of GDP to a peak of 71% before receding back to just under 52%, where it presently sits. Still, 23 cents of each revenue dollar collected by Ottawa goes to pay interest - almost $38 billion per year - on the debt.

So who holds our debt Answering this question in detail is not an easy task. Government debt (bonds, treasury bills, etc.) is sold openly on financial markets. A business, a bank, mutual fund or even an insurance company might buy a "piece" of government debt. If you own a Canada Savings Bond, then you also own part of our debt.

Federal employee pension plans and the CPP account for 28% of our debt. Foreign debt, less our federal holdings in foreign currency, accounts for 8%. The remaining 64% of our debt is owed directly to Canadians through their banks, insurance companies, etc.

At $547.4 billion, each of us - all 31.1million of us - is on the hook for $17,612 of debt. And when it comes to debt interest, we continue to pay $103.3 million per day, $4.3 million per hour or almost $1,200 per second in debt interest.

As John Manley crafts next February's budget, a legislated annual schedule of debt reduction should top his priority list. It's time we put an end to this fiscal crime of intergenerational tax evasion.