After taking one year off to teach “Forums for a Future” as a university honors course, I have resumed the series. The continuation applies the concepts developed in the first 16 episodes to an open-end list of contemporary social issues. As a way to get started, I created a three-part “Review and Transition” (Podcasts 17-19) to provide a brief summary and introduction for those new to the series. Podcast #34 marks the beginning of a new series (Part VIII) on "Living in the Future Tense." Today’s podcast (#38) concerns our inability to speak the truth about our $14 trillion national debt. The national debt as a percentage of GDP has historically risen during times of war and depression while being offset by increases in the highest marginal tax rate. Since 1981 the relative debt has increased due to internal policy decisions, rather than external events as before, while the highest marginal tax rate has been reduced.