Do you know the truth in 2008?
By Christina Miller
Did you know that you’re $183,000 in debt?
No, it’s not your mortgage. Or your student loans. Or that credit card payment you let go. Nor is that what you owe to the IRS this year—though it may seem that way. $183,000 is your share of the national debt. That may seem like a lot, until you consider that the official debt is over $9 trillion.
But wait—there’s more! That’s the official debt. The actual debt is about five times that.
Before you grab your checkbook and write a $183,000 check to the Treasury, take a breath. Truth in 2008 is here to help.
Truth in 2008, an organization sponsored by the Institute for Truth in Accounting, is dedicated to getting the word out about our nation’s debt and holding the government accountable in finding solutions to this growing problem.
“The federal government,” Founder/CEO Sheila Weinberg says on the site’s homepage video, “is $50 trillion in the hole. And they have no idea where they’re going to come up with the money for that.”
Truth in 2008 works at the grassroots level to educate citizens about the national debt, and to encourage them to think about how it affects them personally and hold their representatives accountable. On Truth in 2008’s website, visitors can submit questions about the nation’s debt to the presidential candidates via the Ask the Candidates section. Weinberg says the website’s goal is to get the candidates to focus on the deficit.
“They [the candidates] make promises to seniors, to veterans, to federal employees, and they have no idea where they’re getting the money,” Weinberg says in the homepage video. “It’s our goal with this website to get the candidates focusing on this issue…they go ahead and promise things they feel they must mandate once in office…and they should understand…how it’s really going to affect the country.”
Truth in 2008’s website features theories from former business executives about how to best manage the current crisis, facts and statistics about the interest the national debt accumulates, and tales of other countries in debt around the world. It also has a blog with news and commentary regarding America’s financial crisis.
“We wanted to get the candidates to focus on the fiscal condition of the country and our hopes that they wouldn’t dig the hole deeper,” Weinberg said.
Currently, Truth in 2008 is showcasing recently retired US Comptroller David Walker, who is on a national tour to raise awareness about America’s coming financial crisis. In fact, he recently appeared on 60 Minutes to address the issue. Additionally, they are circulating a pledge to candidates, asking them to tell the truth about our financial condition and to give honest answers about how much their campaign promises will cost, how they’ll be funded, and how much further in debt we’ll be if the promises aren’t funded.
“Our ultimate goal is to get the issues on television,” Weinberg said. “There is a documentary film being done, but that will have a limited audience so we’re using the site to get the media more interested in the topic.”
So far, it’s working.
“We have gotten a lot more press coverage,” Weinberg said. “Different media outlets have called us. Our topic is kind of esoteric, but when people look at the site they immediately get that it’s a problem that needs to be solved.”
Finally, Weinberg says their final goal is “that the new president and Congress will tell the public the truth about exactly where we stand and how they’ll solve our huge financial hole when they first get into office. We really suspect that something will happen [during the next term]. It would be better for them to be upfront so they can say they tried to help us get out of the mess.”
Learn more—and help spread the word—by visiting the Truth in 2008 website: www.truthin2008.org.
