Steve's barking 17 trillion in present day debt equates to 30 or 40 trillion dollars in future debt, How?

I heard some financial genius on the boob tube the other day stating the nations nearly 17 trillion dollar deficit is really 30 to 40 trillion dollar deficit, of cause this genius some how equated the deficit to Enron. This being the a financial network no in dept explanation was given. After I heard this financial wizard it was on to the next segment like any late night variety talk show would do.
Now I might not be Mensa but I'm not that dumb. Like I've stated in prior blogs we really don't have less  a 16.8 trillion dollar debt (The allocation of funds that aren't, etc), so as I see it debt talk starts out on the wrong foot. Now unfortunately in 15 to 20 years no money will be owed to the Social Security trust.
2.4 Trillion no longer on the books. Now we come to the Feds Quantitative Easing, I guess one believes that the Federal Reserve is going to keep buying bonds after it hits three trillion dollars. The Feds are going to sells their bonds or demand higher interest rates? I haven't looked at other monies that the government owes itself, they might be disappearing too, vanishing in to payments.


*The government show no willingness to shore up Social Security, it does show a willingness to rob the recipients in some fantasy that it reduces the debt.