"Enron Accounting" Has Bankrupted America: U.S. Deficit Really $202 Trillion, economist Kotlikoff

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts the U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.3 trillion this year. An astronomical figure, to be sure, but that’s lower than was projected in March. It’s also less than last year’s record $1.41 trillion deficit, which was close to 10% of GDP.

And, that's the good news.

As the deficit grows so does the national debt, which is currently more than $13.3 trillion, according to official figures.

But the situation is actually much, much worse, according to Boston University economics professor Laurence Kotlikoff.

“Forget the official debt,” he tells Aaron in this clip. The “real” deficit - including non-budgetary items like unfunded liabilities of Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and the defense budget - is actually $202 trillion, the professor and author calculates; or 15 times the “official" numbers.

“Congress has engaged in Enron accounting,” says Kotlikoff, who recently penned an op-ed for Bloomberg entitled: The U.S. Is Bankrupt and We Don't Even Know It.

Link - Yahoo finance



" America is in worse fiscal shape than Greece"


That pretty much sums it up in one sentence.

$202 trillion dollars in debt, an amount so gigantic in status that it is almost difficult to fathom. Massive inflation is on it's way, as at this point it is all but unavoidable. Apparently our government has been cooking the books on our debt for a couple of decades now, and it seems that nobody has been paying attention to the wreckless, irresponsible spending that has been going on right under our noses.

Anyway, this isnt meant to scare anyone as it would be too late now to do anything about it, so no need to panic at this point. I suppose when a loaf of bread costs $200 USD people will begin to sit up and take notice.

[edit on 23-8-2010 by BlackOps719]

[edit on 23-8-2010 by BlackOps719]

I watch a lot of American news these days, and I was watching an economist the other day, and he said that the USA reports the debt on their balance sheet as part of their assets, which any accountant knows is the wrong way of figuring out net worth. Assets minus liability (debt) = net worth.

NOT assets plus debt = net worth :shk:

Most of the US has no idea just how broke, beyond broke, that they really are. The interest alone on the national debt, as well as the military spending, and the infrastructure needing upgrading/fixing.

As dictator-like Harper is, up here in Canada, right now I am really glad our country is being run by someone who was an economist first, and apparently a really good one.

Here are a few charts to illustrate a little of what has happened in our economy. Perhaps a visual aide will help relay the message.



Earnings pattern of the top 1% versus the bottom 90% since the Great Depression












Average hourly pay has not effectively increased on over 50 years!





This one is very telling, the likelihood that someone starting out at the bottom would be able to move up in the economic food chain.



How does this one make you feel?





[edit on 23-8-2010 by BlackOps719]