Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock since the Reagan administration knows that America is in a hefty amount of debt. For the Patrick Stars among us, you can view a live stream of the debt increase at usdebtclock.com, but prepare to be depressed as you watch the federal deficit approach $15 trillion. The website also shows figures such as tax revenue and gross domestic product. One of the most interesting, however, is the debt per taxpayer, which happens to be around $131,000 — considerably more than most people make in a year.

Many people are already aware of thoughts and attitudes surrounding the national debt. I hope everyone reading this can agree that something needs to be done to resolve the issue. Ideas presented include increasing revenue through tax hikes for the general population and decreasing expenditures through reducing social security and other social welfare programs.

It’s easy to see, however, that the pendulum has to swing both ways. Neither tax increases nor expenditure cuts will solve the problem on its own. To ensure that future generations (including our own) are not plagued by a dark cloud of debt looming over their heads, some things need to change. At the current rate, we won’t just have student loans to pay back, but the debts of our country as well. Is this hitting closer to home college students?

Now, before we get too critical of our country, it’s important to note that we are not alone in debt. Many countries around the world have been experiencing financial deficits in recent years. Greece has seen rioting and protest in response to its unpaid debts, and economically burdened Great Britain has seen civil unrest in recent months. America hasn’t seen rioting yet, but that doesn’t mean that people aren’t speaking out in response to the national deficit. Warren Buffett, one of America’s wealthiest citizens, announced that wealthy individuals have been “coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress.”

This statement seems to have been foreshadowing, as rich individuals from other countries have since been stepping forward to contribute to their governments to ease financial strain. In an article recently published in the Guardian, Helen Pidd reveals that French and Italian millionaires and billionaires have already made excessive contributions to their respective governments, and that a group of extremely wealthy Germans has volunteered for a five percent “wealth tax” to contribute more of their money to public debt.

Whether Warren Buffett intended to, he seems to have accelerated a movement of generous aristocrats around the world. The issue is that millionaires and billionaires in America seem to have a different sense of allegiance. They have more money than they need by a long shot, but still spend on lobbyists and tax lawyers to avoid higher taxes on their fortunes.

As one small step in the solution to America’s debt problem, a wealth tax could raise billions of dollars in revenue for the federal government. Blanket tax hikes can be devastating for those living paycheck to paycheck, but a wealth tax could help ease strain on the government and its citizens. It is true that the majority of wealthy people have earned their fortunes and deserve to enjoy their financial success. However, as Uncle Ben famously told a young and frightened Spiderman: “With great power comes great responsibility.”