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For years, the federal budget has been stated in cash terms, not the accrual accounting method, which Cooper said has been in use for five centuries and is now mandated for all private corporations. The difference, as he explained it, is this:

If you go to Target and buy an item for cash, it's felt in your wallet immediately. If you buy the same item on a credit card, unless you are using accrual accounting, it is disguised until the bill arrives.

The U.S. government has been running up bills -- notably the promises of pensions and health-care benefits for military veterans and millions of other retirees -- without putting the obligations on the books.

That is what is really scary about the financial report. It contains page after page of graphs showing the probable future course of income and expenditures for Social Security and Medicare. In each chart, the dotted line for spending climbs far faster than the solid line for revenue. Beginning a decade from now, the shortfalls explode in what Cooper calls "a perfect storm" of fiscal ruin.

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quote:

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The U.S. government has been running up bills -- notably the promises of pensions and health-care benefits for military veterans and millions of other retirees -- without putting the obligations on the books.

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Here's a scary thought--the US cares little for it's economic health, because the US is hellbent on 'full spectrum domination' and presumes that many of it's foreign debts will simply be struck down as a repayable war debt or will simply 'loot' a contry's wealth, like they have done in Iraq. Let's face it--the US Congress can go out and declare anything a 'terrorist' action and then just seize the assets in their courts.

Moreover, the Bushites have disregarded US law, probably because they know that when the 'shit' hits the fan, there will be much more pressing matters in the 'war on terror' for Americans to squawk about--

Economic problems in the US are usually just an invite for Americans to shitkick some 'enemy' anyway-- whether it be the Canadian autoworker or last year was the Indian call center worker, or this year, it's the illegal Mexican.