Monday 8 July 2002

Accounting problems

According to economist Walter Williams, the total federal debt in the USA is $35 trillion which works out at $120,000 per man, woman and child. Apparently, politicians say that the debt is at the most $6 trillion because they exclude the big items like social security (old age pensions in the UK). This under-reporting certainly puts Enron and WorldCom in the shade. I wonder what the real UK government debt is per capita. Even more intersting would be the total UK debt if we were to join the Euro and assume our share of the unfunded continental pension schemes.