Former Comptroller General Cites $53 Trillion Shortfall: ‘No One Will Bail Out America'

Friday, October 10, 2008 By Matthew Hadro & Tiffany Gabbay Documentary video by the Peterson Foundation, “I.O.U.S.A.” (CNSNews.com) – The United States faces a $53 trillion shortfall in the funds needed to cover promised entitlments, including Medicare and Social Security benefits, and neither Congress nor the presidential candidates are doing anything about it, former Comptroller General David Walker warned this week. “We need leadership, not lag-ship,” Walker said. “No one is going to bail out America.” In a briefing at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Walker, concerned about the $700 billion bailout of the financial sector, sounded an alarm that the federal budget deficit has already exceeded $400 billion. Worse, if the U.S. isn’t careful, Walker said “increasing entitlement benefits” – with unfunded liabilities of... [read full story]