As D-day for the U.S. debt ceiling debate quickly approaches, Prof. Antony Davies explains just how big the U.S. debt really is.
by Elad Benari, Canada
Published: 29/07/11, 8:49 PM
As the countdown continues towards August 2, the day that without a debt ceiling raise, the United States will default and government will go into lockdown, Economics professor Antony Davies has released a video which illustrates the size of the U.S. federal government's debt and unfunded obligations.
According to the video, the total debt of unfunded obligations – the total amount of money the federal government has borrowed or has promised to pay other people – is $65 trillion, an amount far greater than the economic output of the entire planet.
Prof. Davies explains that the unfunded social security obligations are, in essence, an amount of money that the federal government has promised to current and futureretirees
.
Meanwhile, the Republicans and the Democrats continue to argue over the debt ceiling issue: The Republican majority in the House of Representatives is insisting on commensurate spending cuts for any rise in the debt ceiling, while the Obama Administration is insisting on tax hikes as a major contributor to cutting the budget deficits
