Greenspan: US 'Way Underestimating' National Debt

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is warning that the United States is "way underestimating" its national debt, which is currently $18 trillion.

Speaking at a recent fiscal summit held by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Greenspan said the government is committed to paying for pensions it can't afford.

"The notion that we have a trust fund is nonsense," Greenspan said, according to PJ Media.

"That trust fund has no meaning whatsoever except for the fact as an all private fund to benefit programs, if it runs out of money, you can only pay out in cash flows that come in. But the probability that will happen is not particularly high," he said.

"That means the trust fund is a meaningless instrument that has no function. It's exactly the same thing as current expenses," he added.

Other financial experts agreed with Greenspan, warning that the national debt is much higher when the costs of Social Security and Medicare are included.