Last week’s grim news about America’s publicly traded debt should be a blaring emergency siren — and a wake-up call. Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis  shows the debt, at $31.27 trillion, is now higher than the entire nation’s gross domestic product of $31.22 trillion. That’s a 100.2% debt-to-GDP ratio. The annual interest expense for carrying this debt exceeds $1 trillion — that’s $1,000,000,000,000, with 12 zeroes. What a legacy to leave for our children and grandchildren. How did we fall into this deep hole? Start with the reality that the federal budgeting process is a farce and an abomination. No rules, restraints or restrictions keep Congress from spending willy-nilly on everything from food stamps to day-care centers to health insurance to farm subsidies. And both parties are in on the game: Republicans call themselves fiscal conservatives, but the results don’t support that label.…