(CHAPEL HILL) -- The national debt stands at $16 trillion and growing, but the organizers of a bus tour that stopped in Chapel Hill today say that's a lowball figure.

Former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker says the real number is $70 trillion, and he explains what that means to taxpayers.

"We can translate the numbers to  per person, its over a quarter of million dollars per person it's almost 600,000 dollars per tax payer and going up at record rates."

Walker told an audience in Chapel Hill that if the debt isn't brought under control, we'll see a financial crisis worse than that of 2009 and 2009.