US Published National Debt
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The Truth
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Each Taxpayer's Share: $ 993,000
Financial State of the Union 2025
According to the most recent audited Financial Report of the U.S. Government, our nation’s true debt has climbed to $158.6 trillion, burdening each federal taxpayer with $974,000.
Financial State of the Cities 2025
The Financial State of the Cities report found that 54 cities did not have enough money to pay their bills. Each city has some form of a balanced budget requirement, but this new report shows that cities have not met the intent of their requirement and have pushed costs onto future taxpayers.
Financial State of the States 2024
Our fifteenth annual Financial State of the States (FSOS) report provides a comprehensive analysis of the fiscal health of all 50 states.
Data-Z (database for state and city data)
Create your own chart with more than 700 data variables at the federal, state, and city levels.
Truth in Accounting’s Sheila Weinberg on Illinois’ pension mess and whether budgets are ‘balanced’
April 5, 2025
Wirepoints
Public Affairs’ Jeff Berkowitz sits down for a conversation with Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO of “Truth in Accounting,” since 2002 and whose mission is to compel governments to produce financial reports that are understandable, reliable, transparent and correct. Sheila Weinberg received her Certified Public Accountant, also known as a CPA, credential in 1981, along with a Bachelor of Accounting degree from the University of Denver, which she attended on an academic scholarship. Ms. Weinberg’s research initiatives include “The Truth about Balanced Budgets, a Fifty State Study,” the Financial State of the States and the Financial State of the Union.
Have Gov. Pritzker’s budgets been balanced?
March 28, 2025
Public Affairs TV
Public Affairs’ Jeff Berkowitz sits down for a conversation with Sheila Weinberg, Founder and CEO of “Truth in Accounting,” since 2002 and whose mission is to compel governments to produce financial reports that are understandable, reliable, transparent and correct.
Chicago leaders hand $40K in debt to each taxpayer, second-worst in U.S.
March 25, 2025
The Illinois Policy Institute
But that only covers Chicago’s debts. Those same taxpayers would need to contribute an additional $37,000 to pay down the state’s existing debts, according to Truth in Accounting’s most recent 2024 State of the States report.
Potential Concerns Regarding SEC Compliance: Analysis of Governor J.B. Pritzker’s Pension Funding Disclosures
April 25, 2025
In 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged the State of Illinois with securities fraud for misleading municipal bond investors about its pension funding obligations. The SEC’s investigation found that Illinois, between 2005 and 2009, misrepresented the risks associated with its pension funding schedule when offering more than $2.2 billion in municipal bonds. The state failed to disclose that its statutory plan significantly underfunded pension obligations, thereby increasing financial risks. In 2013, Illinois agreed to a cease-and-desist order to resolve SEC charges under Sections 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933. (link to the SEC Cease-and-Desist Order)
The CPA Education Gap: Why Future Accountants Aren’t Learning How Government Really Works
April 24, 2025
This disconnect is precisely why Truth in Accounting's work is so essential—and why education reform is a crucial part of the long game. If we want financial transparency in government, we need to teach future accountants, journalists, and citizens how the system actually works.
Despite the critical role state, local, and federal governments play in managing trillions of taxpayer dollars, most accounting students graduate without ever learning how public finances are actually reported.
Why Government Accounting Reform Is Foundational to Economic Policy
April 24, 2025
Behind every economic policy—from infrastructure to healthcare, from tax cuts to social programs—is a budget. And behind every budget is an assumption about what money exists to spend. But what if those numbers aren’t telling the truth?
For decades, state and local governments have masked massive debts through accounting tricks and budget gimmicks, claiming balanced budgets while racking up unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities in the hundreds of billions.
This isn’t just an accounting problem—it’s a policy problem.
Budgeting Gimmicks and Misleading Financial Practices
April 24, 2025
Despite laws requiring balanced budgets, state and local governments have long concealed the true costs of government through misleading budgeting and accounting practices. This lack of transparency has led to a dangerous cycle: when crises like the COVID-19 pandemic or the 2008 housing collapse occur, the federal government is compelled to bail out state and local governments with billions of taxpayer dollars.
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