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Regarding the Jan. 3 Post-Gazette editorial "Cliffside Drama," the editors noted that the national debt is $16 trillion. I would refer them to an article by Chris Cox and Bill Archer in the Nov. 27 Wall Street Journal which says, "The actual liabilities of the federal government -- including Social Security, Medicare and federal employees' future retirement benefits -- already exceed $86.8 trillion, or 550 percent of the gross domestic product. For the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, the annual accrued expense of Medicare and Social Security was $7 trillion. Nothing like that figure is used in calculating the deficit. In reality, the reported budget deficit is less than one-fifth of the more accurate figure."
As the police chief said in "Jaws": "We're going to need a bigger boat!"
CHRIS GERARD
Bell Acres
First Published January 18, 2013 12:00 am
