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America has officially crossed the $40 trillion debt mark, demonstrating that if something can’t go on forever, Congress will absolutely find a way to keep it going for at least another appropriations cycle. Economists point out that the number itself is mostly symbolic. Unfortunately, the interest payments are not.

The remarkable part is that nobody can honestly blame just one party. Republicans cut taxes. Democrats expand programs. Republicans expand programs. Democrats extend tax cuts. Everyone campaigns as a fiscal hawk and governs like they just found a government credit card under the couch cushions. The only truly bipartisan achievement in Washington has been proving that deficits are somebody else’s problem.

The budget has become the financial equivalent of a homeowner who insists he can’t afford to fix the roof because the monthly payments on the last five home-equity loans are getting too expensive. Interest on the debt is now one of the government’s fastest-growing expenses, meaning taxpayers are increasingly borrowing money simply to pay for money they already borrowed. At this point, compound interest deserves a Cabinet position.

Perhaps the strangest part is that the world keeps lending us more. Investors continue buying U.S. Treasury bonds because they’re still considered the safest investment on Earth. America has somehow become the friend who never pays off his credit cards, keeps asking everyone for another loan, and still maintains an 850 credit score because, technically, he’s never missed a payment. Yet.