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Study: US has $70.1 trillion in off-balance sheet debt

By Joseph Lawler
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Study: US has $70.1 trillion in off-balance sheet debt

A new study assesses the U.S. government’s off-balance-sheet liabilities at six times the size of the official debt, or $70.1 trillion.

The working paper, released Monday morning by the National Bureau of Economic Research, finds that the government is on the hook for about $50 trillion in obligations to future retirees through Social Security and Medicare that do not show up in the official debt figures.

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Budgets and Deficits Deficit Finance Joseph Lawler PennAve Treasury Department