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Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:56:49 -0700
marlon from private IP, post #12283401
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The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/finance/economy/policy/articles/treasury-just-declared-u-insolvent-151425143.html
The Treasury just declared the U.S. insolvent. The media missed it
Steve H. Hanke, David M. Walker
Mon, March 23, 2026 at 11:14 AM EDT
U.S. President Donald Trump stops to speak to reporters as he departs the White House on March 20, 2026 in Washington, DC.
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)More
The U.S. government is insolvent. That’s not hyperbole — it’s the conclusion drawn directly from the Treasury Department’s own consolidated financial
statements for fiscal year 2025, released last week to near-total media silence. The numbers: $6.06 trillion in total assets against $47.78 trillion in total
liabilities as of September 30, 2025.
Importantly, the $47.78 trillion in reported liabilities does not include the unfunded obligations of social insurance programs like Social Security and
Medicare — those are disclosed separately in the off-balance-sheet Statement of Social Insurance (SOSI).
The government’s consolidated balance sheet position, excluding the SOSI, deteriorated by nearly $2.07 trillion between FY 2024 and FY 2025, reaching a
staggering negative $41.72 trillion. Total liabilities are now nearly eight times the value of reported assets. The largest drivers were a $2 trillion increase
in federal debt and interest payable (now $30.33 trillion) and a $438.8 billion increase in federal employee and veteran benefits payable (now $15.47
trillion).
The Off-Balance-Sheet Iceberg
The off-balance-sheet picture is even more alarming. The 75-year unfunded social insurance obligation surged by $10.1 trillion in a single year, rising from
$78.3 trillion in FY 2024 to $88.4 trillion in FY 2025 — driven primarily by a $6.9 trillion jump in projected Medicare Part B shortfalls and a $2.5 trillion
increase for Social Security. The Treasury’s Statement of Long-Term Fiscal Projections shows the 75-year fiscal gap widening from 4.3% of GDP in FY 2024 to
4.7% in FY 2025.
If the $88.4 trillion in 75-year off-balance-sheet obligations were added to the $47.8 trillion in official balance sheet liabilities, total federal obligations
would now exceed $136.2 trillion — roughly five times U.S. annual GDP.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a disclaimer of opinion on the U.S. government’s FY 2025 financial statements — the 29th consecutive year
it has been unable to determine whether the statements are fairly presented. This is primarily due to serious, ongoing financial management problems at the
Department of Defense and weaknesses in accounting for interagency transactions.
What $136 Trillion Looks Like in Your Living Room
Not only has the financial press ignored the consolidated financial statements, but most members of Congress and members of the general public will not read the
consolidated financial statements. Documents like the consolidated financial statements are not the kind of thing you want to read before driving. If that’s
not bad enough, most people cannot relate to the trillion-dollar numbers in the financial statements. Therefore, it is appropriate to translate them into terms
that people will understand.
Most people cannot relate to trillion-dollar figures on a government ledger. So consider this: divide every number by 100 million — drop eight zeros — and
federal finances look like a household budget in freefall.
That household earns $52,446 and spends $73,378 — running a $20,932 annual deficit. Its total liabilities and unfunded promises amount to $1,361,788 against
just $60,554 in assets, leaving it $1.3 million in the hole. Uncle Sam, by any accounting standard, is insolvent.
Congress has clearly lost control of the nation’s finances. America is facing a fiscal catastrophe. The reckoning, long deferred, is becoming impossible to
ignore.
Two Bills That Could Change Everything
Addressing this crisis — and preventing recurrence — requires two specific legislative actions.
First, Congress should pass the bipartisan H.R. 3289 — Fiscal Commission Act, sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and 41
co-sponsors. Such a commission would force a public reckoning with the facts, the trade-offs, and the hard choices that restoring fiscal health requires.
Second, Congress should call an Article V Convention limited to proposing a fiscal responsibility amendment to the U.S. Constitution. H.Con.Res. 15, sponsored
by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), would do exactly that.
Modeled on Switzerland’s Debt Brake, such an amendment would mandate a balanced budget over the business cycle and prohibit federal spending from growing
faster than the U.S. economy.
U.S. national debt tops $39 trillion
Congress faces scrutiny after the Government Accountability Office highlights the difficulty of verifying federal finances and the steep growth of the national
debt. Annual interest payments alone now surpass $1 trillion, raising bipartisan calls for action.
It took 200 years for national debt to hit $1 trillion. Annual interest alone now exceeds that—a ‘crushing legacy we must reverse,’ says budget chair
These two bills represent the most credible path forward — if Congress has the will to act.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of
Fortune.
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 19:53:35 -0700
doublefriedchicken from private IP
Reply #17331095
Some more AI and another round of DOGE and it's all fixed!
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 01:06:05 -0700
whiteguyinchina from private IP
Reply #11299067
I am sure bombing Iran, laundering money through Ukraine, and taking over Cuba will help as well.
Tue, 24 Mar 2026 06:48:21 -0700
2tierreality from private IP
Reply #17491012
Sovereign debt is always the problem of the next generation. People in the c USA stopped caring about it around the same time they stopped going to church en
masse. Currently, it's just the problem for the next generation... until it isn't. No one will care about it again until we become immortal.
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