The federal government fell further into the red in 2009, with its financial position hitting a deficit of $11.46 trillion.That figure is 12.3 percent higher than the previous year, according to a new report issued by the Treasury Department on Friday.
The annual report shows that the government's big entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare are facing a deficit over the next 75 years of $45.88 trillion, an increase in that deficit of $2.9 trillion in just one year.
The $11.46 trillion deficit in the government's net financial position in 2009 represents an increase of $1.25 trillion over 2008. The position reflects the government's assets, such as cash, property and investments, minus liabilities, such as the federal debt held by the public.
The new figures are included in the "2009 Financial Report of the United States Government." For more than a decade, Congress has required the executive branch to produce the report to provide a more accurate picture of the government's liabilities. It uses the accrual method of accounting rather than the cash system used in reporting the federal government's annual budget deficits.
Hey Wen Jiabao, do you guys have an extra 45 Trillion laying around so we can pay off some debt?
Kind of funny how the government uses a form of accounting very similar to Enron. You may know Enron as the company where many people went to prison for fraud and many people lost their life savings as a result.
In this case we just call that business as usual in Washington DC.
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