"It's way too much money for anyone to contemplate. So let me try this: Think of the total amount of income produced in our entire economy in one year as similar to your family's income. Then ask, 'What percent of this income is going to the federal budget?' And if you do this, the answer is about 20 percent," says Dr. Walden, a North Carolina Cooperative Extension specialist.

"Right now the total national income -– that is, the income earned by everyone in the country -– is around $14 trillion. So the proposed federal budget of 2.9 trillion is about 20 percent of this," he says. "And amazingly this percentage, 20 percent, has remained relatively constant for several years."