Last week’s grim news about America’s publicly traded debt should be a blaring emergency siren — and a wake-up call.

Data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis shows the debt, at $31.27 trillion, is now higher than the entire nation’s gross domestic product of $31.22 trillion.

That’s a 100.2% debt-to-GDP ratio.

The annual interest expense for carrying this debt exceeds $1 trillion — that’s $1,000,000,000,000, with 12 zeroes.

What a legacy to leave for our children and grandchildren.

How did we fall into this deep hole?

Start with the reality that the federal budgeting process is a farce and an abomination.

No rules, restraints or restrictions keep Congress from spending willy-nilly on everything from food stamps to day-care centers to health insurance to farm subsidies.

And both parties are in on the game: Republicans call themselves fiscal conservatives, but the results don’t support that label.

Republicans control the presidency, the House and the Senate — and they’re spending at record…