Fiscal 2001, ended just weeks after the 9/11 attacks and few were mentioning the "second largest surplus in U.S. history" except a few republicans trying to defend the "drop" in surpluses.

You should remember both of these surpluses from the publicity they received. If not, here are a few press samples from the time.

The government will not use this unified budget accounting for fiscal 2002. If they did, it would look like this:

Prior to the end of fiscal 2002, Mitch Daniels, the head of the administration's Government Accounting Office (GAO) had been warning the public that the books would likely show "a deficit " of as much as $165 billion this year.

He was softening the punch and not mentioning the fact that the true deficit, the amount of money the government had to borrow in fiscal 2002, was actually $421 billion. (see National Debt)

Of course, the government has never counted the money stolen (borrowed) from entitlements properly. Under the unified budget, it's counted as an asset even though everyone knows that it has already been spent by this time and recorded elsewhere as debt under "Intragovernmental Holdings." Flagrant double bookkeeping. (see Trust List)

Due to a failing economy and a great many workers unemployed (fewer contributors), the Social Security surplus dropped to $89 billion this year (fiscal 2002). That's still a lot of surplus overcharge from American workers, but it isn't nearly what the government had planned for in its budgeting that, if the economy had been better, would have exceeded the 2001 excess of $98.7 billion by at least another seven or eight billion.

When the government is faced with a shortfall, it doesn't tighten its belt like any normal company or family, it simply borrows more money from investors. It increases the "Debt Held by the Public" credit card as allowed by the Constitution. Although the Constitution intended this for emergencies, not being able to honor their committments to constituents and lobbyists is considered emergency enough. Once set, the government will not alter its budget one iota.

Witness the following:

Eleven trust funds made withdrawals from the General Fund during fiscal 2002 and represent $46.6 billion in double taxation. These taxes were paid a second time plus interest.

If you will look at #20 above, the Military Retirement trust fund, you will notice that it increased from $156 billion in 2001 to $162 billion in 2002, an increase of $5.4 billion. But in the same year it also received $9.4 billion in interest (column four, "interest") against its $157 billion holdings of fiscal 2001 (column three, "2001") at the rate of 5.997 percent (0.05997). The result is that $4 billion came out of the Treasury's general account of cash-on-hand (column seven "surplus"). The government either paid this money from income taxes from the general public or borrowed on its credit card by selling Treasury securities on the bond market.

Are you starting to see why the government borrowed an additional $214 billion from investors in 2002 and what it means to the national debt?

Another example. The Unemployment trust fund, #18, was hit hard by the number of people unemployed and drawing unemployment plus extended unemployment payments granted by Congress. Holdings went down $20 billion from fiscal 2001. But the fund still received more than $5 billion in interest against its 2001 holdings, interest that was paid by simply handing the trust more bogus bonds. The result was more than $23 billion in payouts from you the taxpayers of this country who paid a second time what had already been paid once before by employers.

The Airport & Airways trust fund (#6) was also drawn upon because of shutdowns, increased security, and fewer passengers. The taxpaying public repaid taxes that had already been paid once before by passengers.

If you add up the "red" deficits/withdrawals in column seven "surplus," you will notice that the American taxpayers paid $46.6 billion ($46,567,000,000) in Pay-It-Again Sam scam taxes, double taxation plus interest, during fiscal 2002.

HOW'S THAT FOR CROOKING THE BOOKS?

AND BUSH SAYS; "CORPORATE EXECUTIVES WHO CHEAT THE PUBLIC SHOULD BE IN HANDCUFFS."