There’s nothing funny about the state of America’s finances, or those in even more dire straights in Europe. Greece has lined up a bailout from other European countries and the International Monetary Fund. The European Union has announced a trillion dollar defense fund to ward off attacks on the Euro that are sure to come as other countries like Portugal, Spain, Italy, and Ireland come under the debt markets merciless microscope. And all that is holding the ball of wax together is faith that the Germans will be willing and able to continue to bankroll the continent more or less indefinitely.

Of course, the United States is in basically the same position, just with a lag of a few years. And, unfortunately, President Obama and his congressional allies seem quite intent on closing this gap quickly with more and more deficit spending as evidenced by their attempt to load more government spending on an otherwise non-controversial tax extenders bill.

The numbers and complexities of these issues are sometimes a tad overwhelming to analysts steeped in the history. These matters are bewildering for most Americans, and even most policymakers. This video on YouTube explains the issues about as well as can be done, and does so with a humor to match the severity of the matter.