I went to school in a state that mandated a fifth year to sit for the CPA exam. I was broke after 3 1/2 years, so after graduation I bolted to another state to work (and sit). Unfortunately, the Master’s in Accounting I skipped covered governmental and non-profit accounting, so I had to teach it to myself.

It never agreed with me, as it didn’t reflect reality. My instincts, it seems, were correct - the “right side” of the federal government’s balance sheet is short a few bucks…actually something like 50 trillion short, when you ignore accrued liabilities.

This isn’t news - David Walker, Comptroller General of the GAO, has been talking about it for a while. But major media coverage has been sparse to this point.