With all the talk of the nation's deficit, the federal budget, and a potential government shutdown, I would like to throw a question into the debate: When are we going to pay off the national debt?

We have been borrowing more and more money, and the amount that we have borrowed has grown significantly compared to the total goods and services we make in this country.

I recall a few years ago talking to people who were buying and selling homes. I asked them how they could afford such big, expensive houses. I thought maybe they had rich uncles. But they were just taking out interest-only mortgages and the banks were lending them 95% of the value of the houses or more.

The past week's data-point-of-consequence for investors was delivered by none other than the head of the world's most powerful central bank. U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke underscored the nation's need to raise the debt ceiling.

Speaking at a National Press Club luncheon in Washington Thursday, Bernanke said delays in raising the debt ceiling limit, currently $14.3 trillion, could have "catastrophic" consequences, Reuters reported.

The most common question I get from friends, family, business associates and, well, everyone is -- Do you expect a double-dip recession? My answer is an unequivocal "No!"

This does not mean that I think we are going to experience a dramatic improvement in the economy. We are not. Many of my colleagues seem to oppose my view, so it is not without some trepidation that I take this stand. However, I see the glass half full. My view is that others are overly influenced by "group-think" and the calls of doom.

I do think that we are currently adrift in uncharted waters and we may have a faulty rudder, too. The biggest fear I have is that everyone jabbering about another deep recession may actually cause one.

The following supports why I feel, from what we know, that we are not destined for a double-dip recession:

Paraphrasing the great Mark Twain, if you don't like the stance of institutional investors, just wait a while.

Case in point: Investor sentiment toward the United States' large budget deficit and national debt.

A scant month ago, the talk was of bond vigilantes turning their wrath on the U.S., from Greece, Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe's debt-plagued nations -- a predicament that would force interest rates up in the world's largest economy.

Our Wall St. Cheat Sheet framework is successful because we start by finding the biggest trends and then ride them like pro surfers. Currently, the biggest trend in the world is fiscal/monetary stimulation to ward off crippling sovereign debts and economic depression.

Unless we believe the world can simply grow its way out of the global debt crisis, gold and silver will benefit at the expense of paper currencies. If you think people are losing confidence in paper currencies now, wait until it's time to pay the tab for such imminent bills as the $13 Trillion US debt (along with the additional ~$40 Trillion off balance sheet liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare). This isn't as simple as filing for personal bankruptcy.

Under the radar: Some trends are obvious enough and visible to all investors. Others are more-subtle, but are just as potent, and these often slip 'under the radar.'

Case in point: China's ownership of U.S. government debt decreased in December by the most in a month since 2000, Bloomberg News reported.

China's holdings plunged 4.3% to $755.4 billion in December; China's holdings peaked in May 2009 at $801.5 billion.

Much has been made of the U.S. national debt, totaling about $12.3 trillion. (To see the U.S. national debt in real time, click here.)

Economists agree that the debt is high and that it has to be reduced over time. The nation should not as a policy have large, unfunded programs and obligations.

Congress will likely increase the debt ceiling by $1.8 trillion to roughly $14 trillion, before the year-end holiday recess. The House will act first, followed by the Senate.

Congress has to raise the ceiling or the U.S. government will grind to a halt in a few weeks. There's little chance the majority, led by the Democrats, will face any substantive opposition from the minority, the Republicans. The reason? In 1995-96, the Republican-led Congress picked a fight with President Bill Clinton, D-Arkansas, and temporarily shut down the federal government. The result was a public backlash against the Republican Party.

The only thing that has been devalued faster than our precious dollar is the perpetual slide in government credibility. Over the years we have heard countless times about the importance of a strong dollar from our leaders.

"Our administration believes in and will do everything in its power to support a strong dollar" or something like this has been spewed out by Republicans and Democrats alike, yet there is little evidence that the policies put in place over the past century have done anything of the sort. Perhaps there was one person that took the heat and did the right thing -- Paul Volcker, during the Carter administration, who had to deal with dizzying inflation.

One of the nation's foremost economic minds is sending an alarm signal regarding the U.S. budget deficit and national debt.

Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he's not "overly concerned" about the recent weakness in the U.S. dollar, Bloomberg News reported Thursday. However, Greenspan is concerned about the long-term costs to the United States associated with its rising national debt.

Have the G-8 nations lost their economic power? This is exactly what James G. Neuger feels may be happening. How can this be, you ask. Aren't the G-8 nations are the wealthiest nations on earth? Yes, that is true, but it is also true that the G-8 countries also hold the the most debt.

Bank bailouts and stimulus programs will explode the G-8 nations' debt to 114% of GDP in 2014. This debt load would be triple that of emerging countries. Even some G-8 members say that the group has lost its grip in this global recession, which left them wounded and unable to carry out the grandiose programs they previously envisioned like the reduction of greenhouse gasses.

The BRIC nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China -- basically the powerhouses of the developing world, recently met to discuss, among other things, the possibility of forming an effort to move away from the dollar as the world's reserve currency.

Among options for consideration: a) a shift to another hard currency, b) a shift to a basket of currencies, and c) the possibility of the International Monetary Fund's special drawing rights unit of account serving as the new reserve currency.

Congressman Mitch McConnell recently pointed out that the United States Congress is spending money at a rate of $1 billion per hour -- all of it financed with increased debt.

In this interview with Jan Helfeld, California Congressman Pete Stark argues that the more national debt we have, the wealthier we are as a country because "debt for a nation is different from debt for an individual or company." That was back when the national debt was $5 trillion. Today the national debt is $10,962,887,347,011 -- as I write this.

The economic firestorm that we are in the midst of is yet to be contained, or for that matter, completely understood.

Some things are very clear like the fact we spent more than we earned, as individuals and as a nation, for decades on end. That we know for sure, and regardless of who we blame the most for this situation there is no bigger economic mistake one can make.

This is something that I harp on often, and I expect I will keep on doing so because I do not have any reason to believe things will change; see: Ignore Washington -- keep saving; General Patton makes a point.

U.S. stock markets appear to be in free-fall (at least short-term), the federal budget deficit will exceed $1 trillion for at least the next two years, and Congress will likely have to raise the national debt ceiling above $13 trillion -- all negative developments for the dollar.

So what does the greenback do Monday? Of course, it continues to rise -- strengthening about one-half cent versus the euro and more than 2 cents versus the British pound, to $1.2581 and $1.4034, respectively.