The largest employer in the world announced on Dec. 15 that it lost about $450 billion in fiscal 2006. Its auditor found that its financial statements were unreliable and that its controls were inadequate for the 10th straight year. On top of that, the entity’s total liabilities and unfunded commitments rose to about $50 trillion, up from $20 trillion in just six years. If this announcement related to a private company, the news would have been on the front page of major newspapers. Unfortunately, such was not the case – even though the entity is the U.S. Government.
To put the figures in perspective, $50 trillion is $440,000 per American household and is more than nine times as much as the median household income. The only way elected officials will be able to make the tough choices necessary to put our nation on a more prudent and sustainable long-term fiscal path is if opinion leaders state the facts and speak the truth to the American people … We hope the media and other opinion leaders do their part to save the future for our children and grandchildren.
~ David M. Walker
Comptroller General of the United States
"America’s Red Ink" (The Washington Post, 24 December 2006)
Still skeptical? Check out this article by Chris Leithner. Its very long but contains a lot of valuable information.
No comments:
Post a Comment