Editor’s note: Joe Jett is director of Business Strategies and Corporate Development for Rose Group Advisors and is a former state representative who chaired the House Revenue & Tax Committee. The opinions expressed are those of the author.

Most Arkansans are focused on their own budgets – making sure their families are fed, keeping the utilities on, making payments on their houses and automobiles, and paying their health insurance. But decisions are being made in Washington, D.C., that could directly affect every day Arkansans’ healthcare, the roads they drive on, and the schools they send their kids to, among other things.

The total national debt has now hit $39 trillion. That works out to about $114,000 for every single person living in America. And here is the part that should really concern every Arkansan:  that debt is growing faster than the economy can keep up with.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says the portion of debt owed to outside lenders — foreign countries, big banks, and investors — already equals 100 cents on every dollar the entire American economy produces in a year. By 2036, it will be $1.20 for every dollar. Simply put, our federal debt is outpacing our federal GDP, and it is unsustainable on the current trajectory.

Now you might be thinking — that is Washington’s problem, not mine. But here is why it hits close to home.

Arkansas runs its state government on approximately $6.8 billion in net general revenue annually — money from your income taxes, your sales taxes, and taxes paid by Arkansas businesses. On top of that, Arkansas receives approximately $12.2 billion in federal grants and matching funds every year.

In fact, nearly 31 cents of every dollar Arkansas spends on its citizens comes from Washington. Take that away — or even cut it significantly — and Arkansas has a serious problem on its hands that no amount of state-level budgeting can fix overnight.

Right now, approximately 850,000 Arkansans — that is, one in four people in our state — get their health insurance through Medicaid. That includes working families, children, elderly folks in nursing homes, and people with disabilities.

The way it works is simple: Arkansas pays part of the bill, and the federal government matches it. Arkansas currently has over $100 million in reserves to cover drastic Medicaid cuts, but when you do the math — $100 million spread across 850,000 people — it is clear the reserve would not last long if Washington sliced what it sends to Arkansas.

Here is the hard truth: those cuts are not just a possibility. They may be unavoidable. Last year alone, the federal government spent $970 billion — nearly a trillion dollars — just on interest payments on its debt. That is more than the entire defense budget.

I would like to see Congress enact a debt-to-GDP cap, then start working to get its budget under control in a well-thought-out and careful manner. The Arkansas congressional delegation understands this risk. But they are only 6 out of 535 members.

At the state level, Little Rock could formalize an annual stress-testing process through state statute so that legislators and the governor have concrete numbers—not just general concern— to guide their decisions before Washington’s debt problem becomes Arkansas’ budget crisis. A dozen states have adopted that concept to stress test their budgets. Little Rock could build this analysis by modeling 10%, 20%, and 30% reductions in federal funding.

Arkansas is better positioned than most states to do this well. It has a disciplined Department of Finance, a capable Bureau of Legislative Research, the ability to employ outside expert knowledge, strong reserves, and a track record of conservative fiscal management.

Washington’s debt problem is Arkansas’ problem — and the longer Congress waits to deal with it, and Arkansas doesn’t prepare for it, the more everyday Arkansans could end up paying the price.