‘Corrected’ Deficit Figures Don’t Add Up

While I am flattered that you chose to print my letter on Social Security on May 17, I am disturbed that you also chose to “correct” the figures in my letter without consulting me. The original letter indicated that the federal deficit was about $150 billion. This is correct. The published version of the letter, however, gives the figure as $5.150 trillion. It appears that someone confused the annual federal deficit--to which my letter referred--with federal debt outstanding.

Unfortunately, with your “correction,” the letter does not add up. My calculation in the original letter was that with a 4% profit on stock purchases, buying $3.75 trillion in stock would produce a return of $150 billion. That is, $3.75 trillion times .04 equals $150 billion. But covering the deficit in this way would not reduce the outstanding federal debt, which the “corrected” letter now seems to imply.

DANIEL J.B. MITCHELL

Professor, Anderson Graduate School of Management and School of Public Policy and Social Research

UCLA