This year, the United States will owe its creditors 7,554,179 nicely equipped Hummer H2s. Or, if they prefer, 12,203,486,710 Oster 12-speed blenders. Or, depending on just who these creditors are, 607,109,292,500 cans of Miller Lite.

It’s most likely, however, that these creditors will want hard currency, and that adds up to 427 billion U.S. dollars, according to White House estimates announced Tuesday. The U.S. budget deficit is expected to grow for the fourth straight year in 2005 and seems poised only to continue growing into the foreseeable future.

But from the actions of the Bush administration and the reactions of the American public, you wouldn’t think anything was wrong; both seem unconvinced that a problem even exists.

This is understandable, perhaps, for individual Americans, who have no frame of reference for a 12-digit number and have been told for the past four years that lower taxes and a nebulous pursuit of “freedom” can only be for the good, but is certainly not acceptable.

Even less acceptable is such ignorance from a presidential administration. Big numbers (be it in the form of votes or budget deficits or body counts) are an every day occurrence for the president and his men, and their impact must be considered in both foreign and domestic policy.

Just what does a $427 billion deficit mean to the country? Such a figure, especially with the threat of a figure three or four times that lurking behind the next piece of legislation, can have great influence over everything from a homeowner’s interest rate to the fate of the world economy. The American Bankers Association on Wednesday warned the deficit was “unsustainably large” and could lead to a rise in federal interest rates if it does not decline. In a report released Tuesday, the United Nations suggested the U.S. deficit could disrupt the global economy and called on other industrialized nations to speed up their economies to relieve the debt.

U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow told CNBC on Monday that “this administration is deeply committed to fiscal responsibility, to controlling spending and to bringing the deficit down.”

This statement — and the administration promise to reduce the deficit by half by 2009 — seems to run counter to every significant proposal laid out by the Bush administration in this new term. Social Security reform — the centerpiece of Bush’s early domestic policy — is expected to require $1 to $2 trillion in borrowing during the next 10 years, while plans for permanent income tax rollbacks could result in another $2 trillion added to the deficit, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

The administration can’t have it both ways, and to make sure it doesn’t try, the people must get over their number phobia and speak up.