Unfunded liabilities

Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff has calculated that the U.S. government is facing unfunded liabilities of 222 trillion dollars in the years ahead. To name just a few: Medicare and Medicaid, social security, service treasury bonds, food stamps, buying drones, etc.

Debt

Michael Snyder. 21 July 2013. Share This Chart With Anyone That Believes The U.S. Economy Is Not Going To Crash. theeconomiccollapseblog.com

Anyone that thinks that the U.S. economy can keep going along like this is absolutely crazy.  We are in the terminal phase of an unprecedented debt spiral which has allowed us to live far, far beyond our means for the last several decades.  Unfortunately, all debt spirals eventually end, and they usually do so in a very disorderly manner.  The chart that you are about to see is one of my favorite economic charts.  It compares the growth of U.S. GDP to the growth of total debt in the United States.  Yes, U.S. GDP has certainly grown at a decent pace over the years, but our total debt has absolutely exploded.  40 years ago, the total amount of debt in our system (government debt + corporate debt + consumer debt, etc.) was about 2 trillion dollars.  Today it has grown to more than 56 trillion dollars.  Our debt has grown at a much, much faster rate than our economy has, and there is no way in the world that we will be able to continue to do that for long.

• Since 2000, the U.S. national debt has grown by more than 11 trillion dollars.
• The debt of the U.S. government is growing faster than the economy with more government debt per capita than Greece, Portugal, Italy, Ireland or Spain.
• The number of Americans on Medicare is expected to grow from 50 million today to 73.2 million in 2025.
• The number of Americans collecting Social Security benefits will grow from 56 million today to 91 million in 2035.
• State and local government debt has grown from 1.2 trillion dollars in 2000 to 3 trillion dollars today.
• According to the Detroit Free Press, state governments are facing unfunded pension obligations of nearly a trillion and a half dollars.
• Total home mortgage debt in the United States is now about 5 times larger than20 years ago.
• Student loan debt in America is over one trillion dollars.
• About 41 percent of all working age Americans either have medical bill problems or are currently paying off medical debt.
• The American Journal of Medicine reports that medical bills are a major factor in more than 60 percent of personal bankruptcies in the United States.
• Consumer debt in the United States has risen by a whopping 1700% since 1971, and 46% of all Americans carry a credit card balance from month to month.
• An astounding 43 percent of all American families spend more than they earn each year.  Are you starting to understand why approximately half of all Americans die broke?

2009 Feb 25 money.cnn.com   American Boomers: 30% underwater

[Although many have recovered a lot of these losses, it’s just temporary to trick people yet AGAIN into putting their money into stocks so the smart money can get out before the next downturn which is likely to plunge people into even deeper debt than the 2008 or 2000 crashes did]

Boomers between 45 and 54 have lost 45% of their median net worth, leaving them with just $80,000 in net worth, including home equity

Those between 55 and 64 have lost 38% of their net worth, leaving them with $140,000. But this group is rapidly nearing retirement age and they have few working years left to make up the losses