Corporate‐​Style Accounting Shows Growing Burden of Entitlements

A feature story in USA Today reveals the staggering burden of entitlement programs if future deficits are recognized today. These figures are revealing, but they can also be misleading. The key concern, for instance, should be the size of government in the future, not the share that is debt-financed. Funded liabilities and unfunded liabilities, after all, both result in the transfer of resources from the productive sector to government. Another problem with corporate accounting is that it assumes that political promises are binding. In reality, politicians can enact laws to completely eliminate unfunded liabilities (though they are more likely to pass bills to make the problem worse). Even with these caveats, however, the data is sobering since the numbers show that the U.S. is destined to become a European-style welfare state unless dramatic reforms are implemented:

The federal government recorded a $1.3 trillion loss last year — far more than the official $248 billion deficit — when corporate-style accounting standards are used, a USA TODAY analysis shows. The loss reflects a continued deterioration in the finances of Social Security and government retirement programs for civil servants and military personnel. The loss — equal to $11,434 per household — is more than Americans paid in income taxes in 2006. ...Modern accounting requires that corporations, state governments and local governments count expenses immediately when a transaction occurs, even if the payment will be made later. The federal government does not follow the rule, so promises for Social Security and Medicare don't show up when the government reports its financial condition. Bottom line: Taxpayers are now on the hook for a record $59.1 trillion in liabilities, a 2.3% increase from 2006. That amount is equal to $516,348 for every U.S. household. ...Unfunded promises made for Medicare, Social Security and federal retirement programs account for 85% of taxpayer liabilities. State and local government retirement plans account for much of the rest. This hidden debt is the amount taxpayers would have to pay immediately to cover government's financial obligations.