Analysis: $5.3T in new obligations in 2010

WASHINGTON, June 7 (UPI) -- The U.S. government's financial situation worsened rapidly in 2010, more than the $1.5 trillion in new debt to finance the deficit, a USA Today analysis showed.

The government added $5.3 trillion in new financial obligations in 2010, largely for programs such as Medicare and Social Security, to bring the total of unpaid financial promises to a record $61.6 trillion, the analysis released Tuesday indicated.

The gap between spending commitments and revenue last year is more than a third of the nation's gross domestic product, the analysis said.

Medicare alone shouldered $1.8 trillion in new liabilities, while Social Security added $1.4 trillion. Federal and military retirement programs also contributed to the deterioration.

The $61.6 trillion in unfunded obligations amounts to $534,000 per household, more than five times what Americans borrowed for expenditures such as mortgages, car loans and other debt, USA Today said.

"The [federal] debt only tells us what the government owes to the public. It doesn't take into account what's owed to seniors, veterans and retired employees," says Sheila Weinberg, founder of the Institute for Truth in Accounting, a Chicago-based advocacy group that supports better financial reporting. "Without accurate accounting, we can't make good decisions."

USA Today said it calculated the federal ledger based on standard accounting rules, using data from the Medicare and Social Security annual reports and an audited financial report of the federal government.