U.S. debt has been downgraded, and a budget deal is left to a
“supercommittee.” The world holds its breath to see if Greece, Italy,
Spain or Portugal will default and destroy the Euro. China is letting
its currency rise, making exports more expensive. Americans have lost
confidence in the economy amidst bankruptcies and foreclosures.
What else could there be to worry about in the
world of money and finance? Well, there’s one more catastrophe waiting
to happen.
The disaster revolves around the overwhelming, and mostly hidden, financial woes of many states.
Since states don’t have the option of “printing
money” — an option that gives some breathing room to the United States
and the European community — state budgets are coming to grips with huge
shortfalls. This, despite the fact that 49 of the 50 states have
balanced budget amendments.
According to a new report just released at TruthinAccounting.org,
the states have used accounting trickery to conceal a total of $1
trillion of outstanding bills. The report identifies five “Sinkhole”
states and five “Sunshine” states. Truth in Accounting is a national,
non-profit advocacy group dedicated to “promoting honest, accurate and
transparent accounting.”
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