Just ran across this 274 page report. “Mind blown,” as Kramer liked to say. Statistics and financial info until you can’t stand it no more.
The financial fact that jumped out at me is that the US Government owns $3.2 trillion in TOTAL assets (page 60). Of that, $1.2 trillion, or more than a third of the total, is “Loans Receivable.” Of that, $977 billion is student loans! So 31% of the value of the assets this country owns is receivable from students and former students. I wonder how they valued the assets?
Other tidbits: the government owns $11.1 billion in “gold and silver.” And $9.5 billion in “foreign currency.” $330 billion in defense “Property, Plan and Equipment” after depreciation.
Liabilities you ask? $13.2 trillion in “Federal Debt Securities Held by the Public and Accrued Interest.” I thought the total debt was $20 trillion? The rest – $5 trillion anyway – is “Intragovernmental Debt Holdings,” that is owed by the government to other parts of the government. The other agencies, such as the social security administration which “owns” $2.7 trillion in government bonds, show the debt as an asset.
The idea behind the report is to prepare a financial statement much like a large public corporation which includes lots of notes and explanations and hard numbers. It’s very nice. Bring it with you if you have a long plane trip coming.