USA Today’s lead story today basically tells us that, just by being on the planet last year, each of us in taxpaying households went into debt $55,000. That was just in 2008. It is all due to “an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession,’’ the paper reported, “plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.’’

Here’s the real stinger: According to the newspaper’s analysis, using federal data, our federal obligations are $546,668 per household as of last year. “That’s quadruple what the average U.S. household owes for all mortgages, car loans, credit cards and other debt combined,’’ USA Today reports.

You can read the whole story at http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-05-28-debt_N.htm

It gets into more detail, but here’s a warning: When the word “trillion’’ starts to appear, don’t be too hard on yourself if you find your eyes wobbling and you start to rock in your chair trying to imagine what the following means in “real life” — or at least to your life: “The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.’’

Trillions? Sheesh. I’ve gotten proud of myself for getting my mind wrapped around the concept of a billion. Like, as our paper reported today on its page one that the assets of former North Salem Supervisor Paul Greenwood — who is facing felony charges related to massive fraud — have been traced and total $893 million.

See? $893 million. Got it. Almost a billion dollars. Wow.

But trillions? That must be something like the “gazillions’’ we used to cite as kids, when we thought we had too many chores to do.

Meanwhile, all the big money-watchers — Forbes, CNN, Money magazine —  are reporting that the average individual’s credit card debt is a lot more than the $8,000 figure that was thrown about for a while; it’s now closer to $11,000 each.

Of course that, and higher amounts, need to be paid off as steadily as we can. And we have to stop charging so much.

After all, there is that $546,668 in federal obligations to face.