What’s the largest Federal expenditure? (Hint: not defense)

The majority of the federal expenditures are to take money from one American’s pocket and put into another American’s pocket. You can see that in the federal government’s published numbers. The Statistical Abstract of the United States has been published since 1878. The control page for federal finances is on-line. In Table 454, for 2008, [...]

Where do Federal government expenditures go?

When I start the module on governmental accounting in the Advanced Financial Accounting class, I ask students, “What is the biggest single expenditure of the US government?” They always answer “Defense.” They are always taken aback when I say it isn’t number one, even though it is an enumerated responsibility of the Federal government. The [...]

Where to go for information on Social Security

I had a class interested in Social Security. The news is very bad. With unemployment so high, contributions to the Social Security “Trust” Fund are down. Instead of deficits beginning about 2016, Social Security outlays might be more than inflow beginning next year. Where to go for information? The Social Security Administration Website is a [...]

Bernie Madoff for Social Security Commissioner

I was teaching Auditing in Fall 2008 when the Madoff story broke. When the students asked what I thought, my first reaction to them was to say, “Social Security is the biggest Ponzi scheme.” The Federal government has made promises it can’t keep. Go to the Financial Statements of the U.S. Government. See p. 41 [...]