United Liberty
Your Family’s Share of Unfunded Liabilities? $668,321
Sat, 05/30/2009 - 12:03am | posted by Jason Pye
A study by USA Today shows that each American family now owes $668,321 in unfunded liabilities, a 12 percent increase in the last year, with Medicare taking up half of what taxpayers owe:
Taxpayers are on the hook for an extra $55,000 a household to cover rising federal commitments made just in the past year for retirement benefits, the national debt and other government promises, a USA TODAY analysis shows.Congress isn’t finished either. They are trying to add another $2 trillion for government to takeover healthcare. At some point we’re gonna hit that brick wall at the end of the tunnel.
The 12% rise in red ink in 2008 stems from an explosion of federal borrowing during the recession, plus an aging population driving up the costs of Medicare and Social Security.
That’s the biggest leap in the long-term burden on taxpayers since a Medicare prescription drug benefit was added in 2003.
[…]
USA TODAY used federal data to compute all government liabilities, from Treasury bonds to Medicare to military pensions.Bottom line: The government took on $6.8 trillion in new obligations in 2008, pushing the total owed to a record $63.8 trillion.
The numbers measure what’s needed today — set aside in a lump sum, earning interest — to pay benefits that won’t be covered by future taxes.
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