(Crossposted at Doom Network)
What if the United States was a corporation? What would the financial statements look like? Mary Meeker and other contributors decided to ask that question when they published a report called “USA Inc.” in February 2011. In the report, they generate income statements, balance sheets, net worth graphs, and “corporate” debt data for USA Inc. The report also goes into great depth about entitlement spending programs including unemployment, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This is what they had to say:
Imagine for a moment that the United States government is a public corporation. Imagine that its management structure, fiscal performance, and budget are all up for review. Now imagine that you’re a shareholder in USA Inc. How do you feel about your investment?
Because 45% of us own shares in publicly traded companies, nearly half the country expects quarterly updates on our investments. But although 100% of us are stakeholders in the United States, very few of us look closely at Washington’s financials. If we were long-term investors, how would we evaluate the federal government’s business model, strategic plans, and operating efficiency? How would we react to its earnings reports? Nearly two-thirds of all American households pay federal income taxes, but very few of us take the time to dig into the numbers of the entity that, on average, collects 13% of our annual gross income (not counting another 15- 30% for payroll and various state and local taxes).
The entire 266 page PDF file can be downloaded from their site here. I highly suggest you read it when you’ve got some spare time. The report has tons of fantastic graphs and data. A selection of them are posted below:
After reading through the entire report, I’ve been left with a sinking feeling in my gut. It truly is a tragedy to see what has become of the nation’s finances. It’s even more depressing when one realizes the futility of the matter. What can we as citizens possibly do to change things beside sit back and watch the tragedy unfold? To many Americans, the “government” is an unchangeable, all-powerful, monolithic entity. Personally, my family has concluded the only logical thing for us to do is to expatriate and watch the train wreck from a distance.
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Same here twist. Looking for overseas jobs.
Oh, wait, that was Alyx posting, sorry!
We’re expanding HousingDoom’s reach a bit, and bringing in some new authors. Housing is still Doomed, but Doom’s hardly limited to housing.
Hello, McFly…the United States IS a corporation. Anyone who looked seriously into it’s workings could see that it has been shanghaied and is now a corporation. We are all just numbers on the corporate ledger. Wake up folks and become sovereign citizens.
The US is a corporation, see Statutes at Large 1878, it was an act of congress, the US finally un-seated its republic with the 17th amendment (1920) and became a fully corporate entity (Corp US) what congress now calls a “democracy” , LOL.
Ha, ha. You don’t have to imagine.
Manta.com lists over 63 million private corporations based on data supplied by Dun & Bradstreet. That data suggests that most or perhaps even all of modern governmental “departments” and “agencies” may be private corporations rather than true “branches” of constitutional government.
Enter “The White House” into the Manta.com search engine, you’ll find over 13,000 “private companies” that use that name—and most are legitimate “private companies.” But number 8 on the list is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW,
Washington DC—the same place where President Obama works. The White House appears to be a “private company.”
Try “US House of Representatives.” You’ll get a list of “1,383 US companies.”
Here’s the first on the list:
“US House of Representative (Representative Velazquez) Branch “5007 108th Street, Flushing NY
Enter “US Supreme Court,” “US Marine Corps,” “Internal Revenue Service,” of even “United Nations” into the Manta.com search engine and see what happens.
The search possibilities are almost endless. The results, seemingly, are always the same: According to Dun & Bradstreet, most or all of the agencies that currently pass for “government” are actually “private companies.”
D&B maintains lists of corporations, yes. This is done to assist in maintaining business credit.
The government, for purposes of purchasing, often behaves as a corporation. Many of it’s divisions and agencies do too. They have “personage” – just not officially “corporate personage”.
Like any entity that does business on a decent scale, many suppliers require a DNB number, and report on your payment schedule. This is just like the phone company, banks, etc. – they want your SSN so they can report on your payment history. If you own a business, they require an EIN for tax reporting purposes.
Having a SSN doesn’t make you a non-person, although it does create a number of records that represent you. You stay the same, but it can affect how people interact with you (and lay claim against you in the case of credit). Likewise, having a DNB number doesn’t change the nature of the government in itself, rather, it affects the way that businesses interact with them (making it possible for the government to purchase many of the goods it requires).
It would pretty much be impossible for the government to function without acting in many ways as a corporation – there would need to be a completely separate set of rules in dealing with the government. That’s not always a good thing. Sometimes, it’s nice to have recourse against the government, as one would a corporation.
As an individual working for the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts as a per-diem independant contractor (court interpreter). I was FORCED to acquire a D&B number if I was to continue getting work from the federal prosecutor’s office. And in order to do THAT I was expected to surrender all my personal financial information to D&B, register myself as a freaking CORPORATION with them and pay a yearly fee for the privilege to boot.
Obviously, I chose to no longer work for the.U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts.
Not very good Article, We are in Public Policy, not Public Law, The US is a Corporation, called (all caps) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Its not the Republic, go into any court and see the maritime flag not the Republic Flag.
Not very Knowledgeable article.
Not very Knowledgeable article.
The United States (the land mass) is different from The United States (the governmental entity). In order to function as an entity, the government does have a form of personage. Like a corporation, it is a group of people behaving (for legal purposes) as an entity. In that sense, the US functions as a corporation.
The US, however, is not subject to many of the accounting regulations (and even fewer of the disclosure laws) that large corporations are. Somewhat ironically, if you own a single share of Microsoft stock, it’s much easier to get information on the company you have less than a 1 billionth stake in, than the country you have a a 1 in 300 million stake. In many ways, the latter carries far less influence, and they hold far less accountability.
Many of the disclosure requirements on corporations are good – they help investors like you and I to make judgments about the worth and long-term viability of a company. Why not use those methods to make judgments about the country, too?
You don’t understand the proper spelling of United States vs united states v UNITED STATES, look up the three united states google it. Its shocking. And by your writing you are a Federal Citizen, probably use Social Security, Use you all upper case name on everything , sign your name withiut any reservation, and consider yourself a corporation not a Flesh and blood being with a SOul – because that is what the United States Corp does. Look at your Vital Statistics record Birth Certificate and magnify the lower left hand border – you will see Midwest Bank – that my dear is a Security instrument.
Mell above said it correct
And by your writing you are a Federal Citizen, probably use Social Security, Use you all upper case name on everything , sign your name withiut any reservation, and consider yourself a corporation not a Flesh and blood being with a SOul[sic]
Look at your Vital Statistics record Birth Certificate and magnify the lower left hand border – you will see Midwest Bank – that my dear is a Security instrument.
You do not know me; please do not assume you know my specifics or can speak on my behalf.
First off, my “birth certificate” was not issued by any Vital Statistics department. I am quite aware of the conceptual distinction (and historical legal distinction) between a citizen of a state, and a citizen of the United States. Unlike most of the people living in this country, I was not born here. It changes a few things legally.
Second, you appear to have difficulty discerning the difference between the Midwest Bank, and the Midwest Bank Note Company. Yes, they make security paper for a number of things, including negotiable instruments. That doesn’t make them a bank, nor a birth certificate a negotiable instrument.
For what it’s worth, my birth certificate was issued on paper from Mead. Does that mean that their school supplies are really security instruments? Hardly. They make paper, and certificates get printed on paper. Rather than make their own, the government bought paper from a company. It happens.
Furthermore, I am extremely aware of the concept of corporate personage. As an owner and officer in a number of business ventures – both on my own behalf and that of others, I find it extremely useful. In fact, I went out of my way to register a corporate person (or straw man, as some people call them) specifically to do business as a sole proprietorship. I have an EIN specifically for it, as (like the government) it is often beneficial to me to act as a business.
As for the “signing my name without reservation”, I have read almost everything I have signed throughout my entire life. I have held up lines, and been told that I am the only person ever to do so on numerous occasions. I have caused problems with the airlines because the terms incorporated by reference were not available, despite the claim in the document to the contrary. I have modified my employment contracts (or refused to sign, costing me a job) because they contained terms I found unreasonable, unconscionable, unenforceable, or otherwise objectionable. I have spent years studying contracts and the law so that I may protect myself from the many unilateral contracts people are expected to sign on a regular basis. Can you claim likewise?
Finally, don’t dare suggest that I use Social Security. I may (begrudgingly) pay into it because it suits my ends to do so, but I find the program morally repugnant, of dubious legality, and I will never, ever collect or use one cent of Social Security, and should I ever be forced to collect, you have my word that I will spend every cent of it working not to.
Ultimately, everything the government does is at the barrel of a gun – do this, or we fine you. Don’t pay the fine, we arrest you. Resist arrest, we shoot you. Social security is redistribution by force, and I will have no part of it.
The report was meant to be thought-provoking. There are many, many people in the country who do not know (or understand) how dire the country’s financial outlook really is. The report was meant to do just that. I’m well aware (as are the authors) that much of the government’s activities are driven by corporate interests. The whole point of the exercise was to serve as an eye-opener for average citizens who don’t normally follow things like this.
The goal of the authors was to present the evidence in an unbiased manner and explicitly avoided subscribing to particular political or social agendas. Those decisions are left up to the reader.
Regarding the “sovereign citizen” movement, I remain skeptical about the whole thing. My significant other and I would much rather expatriate entirely than remain in the country — even as “sovereign citizens”. We are planning to leave by the beginning of next year.
“USA Inc. – What if the US was a Corporation?”
Actually, it already IS. A poorly run, wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs, Monsanto and a few choice others. And like many of its corporate masters, it is both financially & morally INSOLVENT too!
“There are many, many people in the country who do not know (or understand) how dire the country’s financial outlook really is.”
And they NEVER WILL, basically because they purposely choose to KEEP THEIR EYES *SHUT*. You’d have to keep their eyes pried open like in the Clockwork Orange just to get them to take a forced peek.