Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt - WSJ.com

Cox and Archer: Why $16 Trillion Only Hints at the True U.S. Debt - WSJ.com
We most often hear about the alarming $15.96 trillion national debt (more than 100% of GDP), and the 2012 budget deficit of $1.1 trillion (6.97% of GDP).
As dangerous as those numbers are, they do not begin to tell the story of the federal government's true liabilities.
The actual liabilities of the federal government—including Social Security, Medicare, and federal employees' future retirement benefits—already exceed $86.8 trillion, or 550% of GDP.
For the year ending Dec. 31, 2011, the annual accrued expense of Medicare and Social Security was $7 trillion.
Nothing like that figure is used in calculating the deficit. In reality, the reported budget deficit is less than one-fifth of the more accurate figure.
Why haven't Americans heard about the titanic $86.8 trillion liability from these programs?