"How exactly does a $56.4 trillion bill add up?" you
ask. We know that the federal government carries both publicly held
debt and debt for money it has borrowed from itself. Together,
these sums are closing in on $11 trillion. This is the figure most
commonly cited as our "national debt," but actually, that's only
the start of the REAL national debt.
Right now, you are carrying a burden of about $184,000.
That is each and every American's share of the US government's
approximated $56.4 trillion in current obligations. And every year
in which no down payments or reforms are made to these obligations,
the total grows by $2 trillion to $3 trillion – or $6,600 to
$10,000 per person – on autopilot.
How exactly does this $56.4 trillion bill add up?
First, there are the federal government's known liabilities that it
is legally obliged to fulfill. These include publicly held debt,
military and civilian pensions and retiree health benefits. As of
September 30, 2008, these liabilities added up to $13.5
trillion.
Then there are various commitments and contingencies –
i.e., contractual requirements that the government is expected to
fulfill when, and if specified conditions are met. These include
federal insurance payouts, loan guarantees, and leases. As of
September 30, 2008, they added up to $1.4 trillion.
So where does the remaining $43 trillion or so come
from? That's what the government has promised to pay in Social
Security and Medicare benefits in excess of related revenues. As of
January 1, 2008, current and promised future Social Security
benefits amounted to $6.6 trillion. And between Medicare's three
programs (hospital insurance, outpatient, and prescription drug),
current and future promised Medicare benefits amounted to $36.3
trillion.
Keep in mind that although people rely on the promise
of these benefits, the government can – and does – change these
programs in ways that increase or decrease the value of the
expected benefits, which has the effect of expanding or shrinking
the total amount of obligations. Such changes can be made to the
size of payroll tax contributions, cost-of-living adjustments,
beneficiary premiums, eligibility ages and benefit levels, among
other examples.
That’s how you get to $56.4 trillion. And remember:
every year in which no down payments or reforms are made to any of
the obligations above, this total grows by $2 trillion to $3
trillion.
Stick with www.pgpf.org to keep track of how much you
owe.
SOURCE: 2008 Financial
Report of the United States Government. Social Security and
Medicare benefits are present values as of January 1, 2008. Burden
per person calculated using estimated December 2008 US Census
Bureau data. Other data as of September 30, 2008