And next year. And the year after that. We’re all so caught up in the "what can government do for me/what SHOULD government do for me" fallacy that we are bankrupting ourselves.
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.
Congress is allowed to use non-standard accounting practices that would send any CFO of a publicly traded company to jail. Why? The behavior is just as criminal. The only difference is that the company is the United States of America and the shareholders are you and I.