Obi-Wan Kenobi
/ 178.36.38.* / 2010-03-12 18:00
"Kreatywna księgowość" pozwala ukrywać rzeczywisty problem długu Stanów, większego niż Grecji w stosunku do PKB...
Our deficit for 2009 was over 10% of GDP. Or was it? It soars to 18% of GDP, if we add in off-balance-sheet spending (legal for government, illegal for Enron), incremental debts for Fannie, Freddie and the other GSEs (backed by full faith and credit of the US Treasury, with no limit to the obligation, but somehow not considered part of our deficit or our debt), and new unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare. Just to supply a frame of reference, this is twice Greece's deficit.
Our public debt is 40% of GDP, down from 60% in 2007.
Right? Well, they took the off-balance-sheet debt off the tally; apples-to-apples, we're at 85%, and rising fast. Add in the GSEs, plus state and local debt, and we're at 140% of GDP. Greece is at 115% of GDP. Add in the unfunded Social Security and Medicare obligations, and we're at 420% of GDP. Who has greasier accounting? Sadly, the US.