“The debt Uncle Sam publicly acknowledges is now $12 trillion. But the true measure of our debt — the one suggested by economic theory — is the fiscal gap, which totals $222 trillion. The fiscal gap is the present value of all future expenditures, including servicing outstanding official federal debt, minus the present value of all future receipts. Detroit’s main means of hiding its true liabilities was discounting its future obligations at a rate far higher than appropriate, thus giving the appearance that less saving was needed to cover the shortfall. Washington’s dirtier trick has been to keep virtually all of its future liabilities off the books.”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/08/detroit-today-washington-tomorrow.html
Related posts:
If I Bribe City Hall, Can I Reduce My Mortgage?
Is Bitcoin Ready for Primetime Usage?
Alleged Silk Road Boss Now Accused Of Six Murders-For-Hire, Denied Bail
Onerous ATF rules threaten to put gun dealers out of business
Cheap Oil Is Squeezing Property Owners in Energy Hubs
Police Officers Selling Freedom for Cash
Cuba looks to medical tourism to entice international visitors
Trouble Could Be Looming for Puerto Rico Bond Insurers
U.S. officials fuming over Hersh account of Osama bin Laden raid
Government claims small gold miners won't be affected by mercury ban
Colonial flags fly in Hong Kong as anger grows over Chinese rule
German police sue American woman for slander for calling them 'Nazis'
As Egyptians Ignore Curfew, Talk of a U.S.-Brotherhood Conspiracy
U.S. Green Card Holders Making Choice to Halt at Door of Citizenship
U.S. seeking $6 billion from JPMorgan to settle mortgage claims