The average American taxpayer is deeply in debt, and not all of it is due to runaway federal spending or a personal lack of financial restraint. Local and state governments have also been racking up some pretty big bills.

“State and local debt was pretty stable during the ’80s and ’90s,” Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at the Cato Institute, told The Examiner. Indeed, a cautious pay-as-you-go mentality was the norm. “But five orsix years ago, debt started soaring.” Added to the exploding costs of Medicaid and enormous unfunded government employee pension and health care liabilities, it’s now become a ticking fiscal time bomb.

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