A Citizen’s Guide to the Fiscal Year 2011 Financial Report of the United States Government

Government’s Financial Position and Condition

The Financial Report of the U.S. Government (Report) provides the President, Congress, and the American people a comprehensive view of how the Federal Government is managing taxpayer dollars. It discusses the Government's financial position and condition, its revenues and costs, assets and liabilities, and other responsibilities and commitments, as well as important financial issues that affect the Nation and its citizens both now and in the future.

The following table presents several key indicators of the Government's financial position and condition, which are discussed in greater detail in the Report.

NATION BY THE NUMBERS
A Snapshot of The Government's Financial Position & Condition

billions of dollars	2011	2010
Gross Costs	$ (3,998.3)	$ (4,472.3)
Less: Earned Revenues	$ 365.6	$ 309.2
Gain / (Loss) from Changes in Assumptions	$ (28.1)	$ (132.9)
Net Cost	$ (3,660.8)	$ (4,296.0)
Less: Total Taxes and Other Revenues	$ 2,363.8	$ 2,216.5
Unmatched Transactions and Balances	$ (15.6)	$ (0.8)
Net Operating Cost	$ (1,312.6)	$ (2,080.3)
Assets:	$ 2,707.3	$ 2,883.8
Less: Liabilities, comprised of:
Debt Held By the Public & Accrued Interest	$ (10,174.1)	$ (9,060.0)
Federal Employee & Veteran Benefits	$ (5,792.2)	$ (5,720.3)
Other	$ (1,526.4)	$ (1,576.3)
Total Liabilities	$ (17,492.7)	$ (16,356.6)
Net Position (Assets Minus Liabilities)	$ (14,785.4)	$ (13,472.8)
Sustainability Measures:
Social Insurance Net Expenditures1	$ (33,830)	$ (30,857)
Total Non-Interest Net Expenditures2	$ (6,400)	$ (16,300)
Sustainability Measures as Percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)3:
Social Insurance Net Expenditures	-3.8%	-3.7%
Total Federal Government Non-Interest Net Expenditures	-0.7%	-1.9%
Budget Results
Unified Budget Deficit	$ (1,298.6)	$ (1,294.1)

Footnotes

¹Source: Statement of Social Insurance. Amounts equal present value of projected revenues and expenditures for scheduled benefits over the next 75 years of certain benefit programs that are referred to as Social Insurance (e.g., Social Security, Medicare). Amounts represent 'open group' population (all current and future beneficiaries ). Not considered liabilites on the balance sheet. (Back to Content)
²Represents the 75-year projection of the Federal Government's receipts less non-interests pending as reported in the 'Statement of Long Term Fiscal Projections' in the Supplemental Information section of the Financal Report of the U.S. Government. (Back to Content)
³GDP values represent the average of 75-year present value of nominal GDP values from 2011 and 2010 for Social Security and Medicare from the Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports. (Back to Content)