The Treasury is already in the embarrassing position of having to borrow each year all the money needed to pay interest on its huge $3 trillion cumulative debt.

The average cumulative debt among graduating seniors is about $22,500, according to FinAid.org, a Web site that specializes in financial aid.

Interest on cumulative perpetual debt accrues if payments are missed.

America's cumulative debt at last count, according to Time magazine, was "a hair" under $4.7 trillion.

In 1994, according to European Commission figures, the cumulative debt of Europe's railways came to $135 billion, an amount that has grown since.

Its cumulative debt in 2006 was almost $25 million, according to the State Board of Education, and it has had six superintendents since 2003.

From 1994 to 1995, when cumulative delinquent debt rose 15 percent, nontax debt collections decreased by 14.5 percent.

The cumulative debt has surpassed $1 trillion.

These downgrades would occur because the federal budget deficit and the cumulative national debt would be so high relative to the gross domestic product.

If the cumulative debt can be reduced, this may be considered the sign of a healthy trend.