Think the U.S. national debt stands at roughly $17 trillion? Think again. If this outrageous amount wasn’t bad enough, the actual national debt is closer to $222 trillion, according to Prof. Lawrence Kotlikoff of Boston University. This is the real debt when you count all of the federal government’s unfunded liabilities for programs such as Medicare and Social Security.
What is frightening is that the debt increased $11 trillion just in the last year to reach the sum of $222 trillion. This puts the real budget deficit at ten times the official reported number. Indeed this makes the talk from Congress about cutting a couple trillion dollars in spending over a decade seem rather trivial – and ridiculous.
One thing is certain. The United States government will default on its obligations. It is a mathematical and economic certainty. The only question is, will you live long enough to see it. If you are under sixty years of age the chances are greater that you will live through the Great Default.
Here is an interview with Prof Kotikoff in which he explains how the U.S. government hides the real debt number: