Projo Biz Blog

America is in a $53 trillion financial hole, but few of the nation's leaders - including the two leading presidential candidates - are willing to grapple with it, says former U.S. Comptroller General David M. Walker.

Besides an $11 trillion debt, the country is also saddled with $34 trillion in unfunded Medicare promises, $7 trillion in unfunded Social Security promises, and $1 trillion in miscellaneous debts, Walker said at an economic summit at Bryant University in Smithfield.

Even if the annual federal budget is balanced, the overall debt will continue to grow unless voters hold elected leaders accountable and demand solutions, said Walker, former head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the watchdog arm of Congress.

Walker now serves as president and chief executive officer of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation in New York, traveling the country to raise awareness of the nation's debts. He also plays a key role in a new documentary film, I.O.U.S.A, now playing in select theaters nationwide.

The nation's overall debt is "unbelievably scary,'' said Ronald K. Machtley, Bryant's president and a former member of Congress. "We are spending more than we can possibly generate'' in revenue, Machtley said.

Bryant sponsored the summit to "share our intellectual resources with the community,'' Machtley said. About 230 business leaders, academics, students and elected officials attended, said Raymond W. Fogarty, director of Bryant's Chafee Center for International Business.

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