The New Federal Deficit Cover Up

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, will end up with a deficit of $400 billion. While this figure is shockingly high, the truth is that the actually deficit is a lot higher.

The $400 billion deficit is based on an accounting fraud called the Unified Budget, in which money borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund and which is added to the National Debt, is counted as income for the annual budget.

This kind of trickery by Republicans and Democrats would land officers of publicly held companies in prison.

When you take the $186 billion that is being borrowed from Social Security and add it to the $400 billion deficit that is being acknowledged, you get the real deficit of $586 billion.

Raiding the Social Security Trust Fund to finance the general operations of the federal government is a direct attack on the financial security of senior citizens. Trying to cover it up through deception is unconscionable.

As for Fiscal Year 2009, the Bush Administration projects a deficit of $482 billion, but that does not include $36 billion from the Housing Bill, $80 billion in war costs, and $227 billion borrowed from the Social Security Trust Fund. The actual deficit next year will be $825 billion to $343 billion more than has been acknowledged.

While the Housing Bill passed late and no one really is sure what the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will cost, it is inexcusable to pretend that the $227 billion being borrowed from Social Security is an asset, rather than a debt that must be repaid.

Republican and Democratic politicians should keep their hands off of Social Security surpluses. And they should start accounting honestly for the money borrowed from the Trust Fund.