We have known the true debt is higher than the $14T for some time. What is interesting is this story is on NPR and so mainstream news. And the possible cure? Raise taxes 67% or cut all spending 40% across the board. Hmm maybe that is why the current politicians have done little on thsi problem... Might be good to have a Plan B country to live in tha doesn't have this kind of debt like Brazil or Australia both of who's national debts are essentially zero ...
When Standard & Poor's reduced the nation's credit rating from AAA to AA-plus, the United States suffered the first downgrade to its credit rating ever. S&P took this action despite the plan Congress passed this past week to raise the debt limit.
The downgrade, S&P said, "reflects our opinion that the fiscal consolidation plan that Congress and the administration recently agreed to falls short of what, in our view, would be necessary to stabilize the government's medium-term debt dynamics."
It's those medium- and long-term debt problems that also worry economics professor Laurence J. Kotlikoff, who served as a senior economist on President Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers. He says the national debt, which the U.S. Treasury has accounted at about $14 trillion, is just the tip of the iceberg.
"We have all these unofficial debts that are massive compared to the official debt," Kotlikoff tells David Greene, guest host of weekends on All Things Considered. "We're focused just on the official debt, so we're trying to balance the wrong books."
Kotlikoff explains that America's "unofficial" payment obligations — like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits — jack up the debt figure substantially.
Laurence J. Kotlikoff served as a senior economist on President Ronald Reagan's Council of Economic Advisers and is a professor of economics at Boston University.
"If you add up all the promises that have been made for spending obligations, including defense expenditures, and you subtract all the taxes that we expect to collect, the difference is $211 trillion. That's the fiscal gap," he says. "That's our true indebtedness."
We don't hear more about this enormous number, Kotlikoff says, because politicians have chosen their language carefully to keep most of the problem off the books.
"Why are these guys thinking about balancing the budget?" he says. "They should try and think about our long-term fiscal problems."
According to Kotlikoff, one of the biggest fiscal problems Congress should focus on is America's obligation to make Social Security payments to future generations of the elderly.
"We've got 78 million baby boomers who are poised to collect, in about 15 to 20 years, about $40,000 per person. Multiply 78 million by $40,000 — you're talking about more than $3 trillion a year just to give to a portion of the population," he says. "That's an enormous bill that's overhanging our heads, and Congress isn't focused on it."
"We've consistently done too little too late, looked too short-term, said the future would take care of itself, we'll deal with that tomorrow," he says. "Well, guess what? You can't keep putting off these problems."
To eliminate the fiscal gap, Kotlikoff says, the U.S. would have to have tax increases and spending reductions far beyond what's being negotiated right now in Washington.
"What you have to do is either immediately and permanently raise taxes by about two-thirds, or immediately and permanently cut every dollar of spending by 40 percent forever. The [Congressional Budget Office's] numbers say we have an absolutely enormous problem facing us."
What changes in your life and in society have you noticed as we come towards 2012? How are you prepared for all the changes happending now and coming in the next year? What is this "Mayan Calendar" all about? It is called "The Peace Calendar" and is a way to live in greater flow, and more connected to the natural rhythms of the universe. Sandra will offer an initiation into the "Mayan Archetypes and Tones of Creation." 
Sandra Solomon, Teacher, Channel/Conduit of Energetic Healing & Transformational Consultant. She is a gifted and accomplished healer who works on both an individual, group and planetary level. Her practice utilizes a wide range of energy modalities including, Quantum Healing which includes Reconnective Healing and Matrix Energetics. She attunes Reiki Masters to six levels beyond Master Level through the Lightarian Institute™. Sandra is also trained in Shamballa Healing.
