http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/ but I've seen mentions by respected debt calculators and estimators @ 55+ trillion for the total debt bubble - which was therefore why Bernanke couldn't do shit from day 1.
Holtz-Eakin approximated, texting back a formula that might serve as the theme song for tax year 2011: â39.6 + 2 (phaseout of pep and pease) + 3.8 (Medicare net investment income tax) = 45.4. Add in state-level taxes and 50 is easy to reach.â ______________________________________________________ Yep, and the ass clown Socialist Democrates would like for the above tax equation to go into effect in 2011. If this passes, unemployed will never find jobs and more layoffs will happen, consumer spending from the TOP will hault. And if you think the middle class will not be passed on the burden of higher taxation as well, you'r a fool.
The official government debt is basically the total amount of treasuries outstanding. It does not include the unfunded liabilities, money promised in the future but not due this year. Any private company that did its accounting that way would be convicted of fraud. The unfunded liabilities are huge, encompassing Social Security, Medicare, the various welfare programs, and federal pensions. Certainly they are in the tens of trillions, at least. Then there are the unbudgetted contingent liabilities. For years the GSEs (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) sold bonds with prospectuses that stated that they were *not* backed by the federal government. But now that they are in trouble, the government stepped in to bail them out. You, the taxpayer, are now on the hook for the trillions of dollars of dubious mortgages the GSEs hold. States also have huge unfunded liabilities. Many have public employee pensions that are deep, deep, deep underwater. (Puerto Rico's pension fund has assets equal to only 10% of the liabilities.) It has always been easier for politicians to give in to public employee unions' demands for generous pensions than to find a way to fund them. Again, in many cases the accounting amounts to outright fraud.
You, the taxpayer, are now on the hook for the trillions of dollars of dubious mortgages the GSEs hold. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very little effect on me persa. I'm not W2. W2 folk will pay the brunt of the GSE. I am my own LLC. I write off all expenses. I will keep all profits in the LLC and pay myself out in poverty wages. Plenty of way's to keep from being in the AMT tax bracket legally. I will have to pay taxes but nothing comparied to if I were w2 because I would fall in the 50% range, with local and Fed, next year. So, I feel for the WAGE worker, who works hard just to give it back to the corrupt GOV and Freeloaders.
I'm glad for your sake that you've been able to lower your tax liability, but ultimately the government will not be able to raise taxes enough to pay for all it owes. So it will print the money, and the inflation will hurt everyone, including you.
Just revolt and burn down the capitol. Too bad this generation has no guts, if this was 200 years ago, people of this land would have taken up arms straight away