The national debt has increased $561.8 billion so far this year with one month to go before we reach the close of the government’s fiscal year on September thirtieth. This represents the real deficit, not what the Beltway Bandits and their loyal or ignorant propaganda spinsters tell you.
Here is the sad fact, direct from the U.S. Treasury’s
Bureau of Public Debt to the penny:
The column titled “Investors” is what the government calls “Debt Held by the Public” and is meant to lull you into believing that’s all you must repay plus annual interest.
The column titled “Entitlements & Perks” is what the government assigns the dubious title of “Intragovernmental Holdings” to make you believe that the government owes itself, that one governmental department owes another, or that it can be paid off without taxpayer money. It’s a complete scam and requires explanation.
Ninety-three percent of the “Entitlements & Perks” category is composed of 19 entitlement trust funds that are not real trusts; i.e., they have no viable assets—only debt markers. The other seven percent is composed of more than 120 trust funds that represent “perks” for federal employees, politicians, judges, and “gift accounts” for various departments. There are also a few philanthropic accounts where the cash was spent long ago. (see “Trust Fund List“)
Essentially, surplus money generated by entitlements like Social Security are ripped off by the government in a scam that makes Enron, WorldCom, and other private sector crooks look like children at play. The result is double taxation through the pretense of being able to both spend and save the same money.
What’s important to notice today is twofold.
First, during the month of August the government was not able to borrow as much money under legitimate contract with investors as they would have liked. Call it a decline in confidence on the part of investors or what others have called “the perfect storm” affecting the bond market.
After borrowing $86 billion in July, the government was only capable of selling $45 billion worth of treasuries in August when they put much more on the block. I covered this in detail in an article titled “More Troubles for the Bush administration.”
If this trend continues, it will be a calamity for the borrowholics in Washington.
Of course, the loyal media is trying to present the happy face side of this by telling you that the deficit for fiscal 2003 is going to be less than the $455 billion they predicted just a short time ago.
Secondly, the “Entitlement” side of the national debt actually went down in August. The reason for this lies in the fact that several entitlements are drawing down on their holdings. You can notice this in things like the “Unemployment trust fund” when monthly receipts are less than payouts to the unemployed. It also happens with accounts like the Federal Employees and Military Retirement trusts and others.
When this happens with something like Unemployment for instance, the debt markers that are cashed-in require money from current taxpayer receipts in the Treasury’s General Fund. In other words, taxpayers are paying the tax that was already paid once before by employers and it has annual interest added on top of that original stolen money. It’s double taxation plain and simple.
No one is doing anything about this. And Social Security, with a bogus trust fund standing at $1.4 trillion is the biggest fraudulent account. Last year, Social Security produced an $89 billion surplus that the Beltway Bandits borrowed/stole.
Meanwhile, the politicians have their own “Thrift Savings Account” which is a real trust fund, investing real assets, and yielding a 17 percent return on investment last year.
Long live the Oligarchy.
“Published originally at EtherZone.com : republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact.”