The U.S. Treasury Recently Declared the Country Insolvent, and the Media Failed to Notice

(SeaPRwire) –   The United States government is insolvent. This is not an exaggeration but a conclusion based directly on the Treasury Department’s own consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2025, which were released last week with almost no media coverage. The figures show $6.06 trillion in total assets compared to $47.78 trillion in total liabilities as of September 30, 2025.

Critically, the reported $47.78 trillion in liabilities excludes the unfunded commitments for social insurance programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which are detailed separately in the off-balance-sheet Statement of Social Insurance (SOSI).

The government’s consolidated balance sheet position, not counting the SOSI, worsened by almost $2.07 trillion from FY 2024 to FY 2025, arriving at a shocking negative $41.72 trillion. Total liabilities are now almost eight times greater than the value of reported assets. The primary contributors were a $2 trillion rise in federal debt and interest payable (now at $30.33 trillion) and a $438.8 billion increase in federal employee and veteran benefits payable (now $15.47 trillion).

The Off-Balance-Sheet Iceberg

The situation with off-balance-sheet obligations is even more concerning. The 75-year unfunded social insurance obligation grew by $10.1 trillion in just one year, climbing from $78.3 trillion in FY 2024 to $88.4 trillion in FY 2025. This surge was mainly due to a $6.9 trillion leap in projected Medicare Part B shortfalls and a $2.5 trillion rise for Social Security. The Treasury’s Statement of Long-Term Fiscal Projections indicates the 75-year fiscal gap expanded from 4.3% of GDP in FY 2024 to 4.7% in FY 2025.

Combining the $88.4 trillion in 75-year off-balance-sheet obligations with the $47.8 trillion in official balance sheet liabilities would bring total federal obligations to over $136.2 trillion—approximately five times the United States’ annual GDP.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a disclaimer of opinion on the U.S. government’s FY 2025 financial statements, marking the 29th year in a row it could not verify the statements’ fairness. This is largely because of persistent, significant financial management issues at the Department of Defense and deficiencies in accounting for transactions between government agencies.

What $136 Trillion Looks Like in Your Living Room

The financial press has not only overlooked the consolidated financial statements, but it is also likely that most members of Congress and the general public will not read them. Documents such as these are not light reading. To make matters worse, the trillion-dollar figures in the statements are difficult for most people to comprehend. Consequently, it is helpful to express them in more relatable terms.

Since vast sums on a government ledger are hard to grasp, consider this: by dividing every number by 100 million—effectively removing eight zeros—the federal financial situation resembles a household budget in crisis.

This hypothetical household has an income of $52,446 and expenditures of $73,378, resulting in an annual deficit of $20,932. Its total liabilities and unfunded promises reach $1,361,788, set against only $60,554 in assets, creating a hole of $1.3 million. By any measure of accounting, Uncle Sam is insolvent.

Congress has unmistakably lost its grip on the country’s finances. America is confronting a fiscal disaster. A day of reckoning, long postponed, is now increasingly unavoidable.

Two Bills That Could Change Everything

Tackling this crisis—and preventing it from happening again—demands two specific legislative measures.

First, Congress ought to pass the bipartisan H.R. 3289, the Fiscal Commission Act, which is sponsored by Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-MI), Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA), and 41 co-sponsors. A commission of this kind would compel a public examination of the facts, trade-offs, and difficult decisions needed to regain fiscal stability.

Second, Congress should convene an Article V Convention restricted to proposing a fiscal responsibility amendment to the U.S. Constitution. H.Con.Res. 15, introduced by Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), aims to do precisely that.

Patterned after Switzerland’s Debt Brake, such an amendment would require a balanced budget over the business cycle and forbid federal spending from increasing at a faster rate than the U.S. economy.

These two pieces of legislation represent the most plausible way forward—provided Congress has the determination to take action.