Comptroller general's bleak report largely ignored

New American, The, Jan 22, 2007

A reading of the December 15, 2006 report issued by the Treasury Department and the Office of Management and Budget forces the following conclusion: the United States is insolvent and there is no way for the nation's bills to be paid with current levels of taxation and promised benefits.

But the report, produced during the days leading up to the Christmas season, drew next to no attention. If it weren't for Dr. Chris Martenson's CMI Gold & Silver Newsletter, it might have been tossed into the nearest memory hole.

In a statement accompanying the report's release, Comptroller General David Walker noted that the General Accounting Office found so many deficiencies in the government's accounting sys terns that its officials were "unable to express an opinion" about the financial statements issued by the government. But Walker did say that "net social insurance commitments and other fiscal exposures continue to grow and now total approximately $50 trillion ... up from about $20 trillion in fiscal year 2000." He continued: "Given these and other factors, it seems clear that the nation's current fiscal path is unsustainable and that tough choices by the President and the Congress are necessary in order to address the nation's large and growing long-term fiscal imbalance." Our combined federal indebtedness, including unfunded future obligations, now totals more than 400 percent of the entire gross domestic product!