Is the US Government Bankrupt?

In this episode of Conversations with Economists, Boston University Professor Bart Lipman interviews Larry Kotlikoff about: Is the US Government Bankrupt? Larry Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University, president of Economic Security Planning, and a New York Times best-selling author. His columns, articles, and books cover personal finance, generational policy, climate policy, inequality, tax reform, Social Security, banking, robotization, growth, and much more. We discuss that by the standard measure—the ratio of official debt to GDP—the U.S. looks like it’s in serious trouble, with the ratio soaring above 1.25. But here’s the twist: official debt only counts the government liabilities that Congress has decided to put on the books. Major obligations like accrued Social Security benefits? They’re left off the books and don’t appear in that ratio. Because of this, debt-to-GDP can’t give us the full picture of our country’s true fiscal health.