Here is a link to the full op-edit by FFSF board members Steve Hanke and Dave Walker.
Here’s the gist. Last week, consolidated financials for 2025 were released by the Treasury Department. Our national government has just over $6 trillion in assets and $136 trillion in total liabilities. We raised $5.2 trillion, spent $7.3 trillion, borrowing $2.1 trillion to cover the deficit.
Hanke and Walker translate these incomprehensibly large numbers, dividing by 100 million to scale them to household budget size.
“That household earns $52,446 and spends $73,378 — running a $20,932 annual deficit. Its total liabilities and unfunded promises amount to $1,361,788 against just $60,554 in assets, leaving it $1.3 million in the hole. Uncle Sam, by any accounting standard, is insolvent.”
Hanke and Walker suggest the one timely-enough remedy, that Congress pass House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington’s HCR15 which would end the Congressional blockade by calling the fiscal limits amending convention.
Unfortunately, Congressman Arrington’s resolution has no cosponsors and will never have even a public hearing. Here is Chairman Arrington speaking on the House floor about Congressional failure to address the debt crisis.
This failure by Congress explains why House Speaker Mike Johnson supports state litigation to enforce state power to propose the needed amendment.